The End is Near
by BABZILLA
Summary: Link has been back from battle for a short couple of weeks. He is suddenly is the mix of war, love, and destruction that can never be brought back. What is our beloved hero to do when he needs more help than his people do? Author's Note: If there is an odd switch of characters in the chapters, it's because my breaks didn't repost like they should have. I'm sorry! Please R&R though!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Link, how could you not remember her?" Link gazed across the Inn's bar. The bartender was sending him vibes in his groin. He felt dizzy from the heavy ale, and his chest felt tight from the heavy smoke-filled air.

"I remember her Jojo… I remember her like the first day I met her. She's busy with her own life, I've ruined enough of them to know when to back off." Link pulled his hair away from his face. His friend was sitting next to him, not knowing who Link really was.

"Yeah, but she wanted to talk to you! You pushed her away. It's your own fault for not going after her Link… Idiot." Jojo slammed his ale down on the bar, sloshing the amber liquid and splashing it across Link's hand. "I'm going to sober up, a walk should do. Hyrule is good for a walk…" Jojo spun around, throwing two rupees on the bar, and strolled out the door. Jojo was a new merchant, tall, lanky, and handsome. Link made friends with him on the open road from a recent quest into the highlands. Jojo never talked about Link's past, and Link liked that. He felt like a normal Hyrulian around him. Something he hadn't felt in a long time.

"Link, doll face, want another?" The bartender leaned over the bar, breasts planted firmly on the bar surface, bouncing up to her chin. Her blue eyes burned into Link's already reddened face. She was breathing hard, her chest flushed like her cheeks. She must have been hitting the sauce at work, Link thought. He rapped the bar with his fist and looked up at her. "Nah Meri, I'm done for the night…" Link left her a few rupees and headed out the door. He was fully aware of her staring at him, breathing heavy, thinking about him and her entangled in a mess of bed sheets. Link shook his head as he walked out the door, trying to shake the feeling of loneliness from his soul.

"Link? What are you doing here?" Link looked over and saw Nabooru. Link rubbed his neck and stretched.

"Nothing, just getting a drink of ale. I just came back from an assignment in the highlands. Aren't you supposed to be in the Gerudo Temple, doing what you do best?" Link didn't like Nabooru, never had.

"I'm in town getting some things from the herbal shops… I can't find fresh herbs in the desert." She smiled at him, but it wasn't a kind smile. "I saw your girlfriend. She seemed upset."

"She's not my girlfriend, and wipe that smirk off your face Nabooru… I've trained in your training facilities, saved your temple, saved this whole kingdom, but oh no… I'm sorry, I forgot you are a spoiled desert princess of thieves. Leave me be witch." Link spat at her and turned on his heel. Nabooru kept the smile on her face.

"Well, I'll just be on my way Hero. Remember, no one is _that_ safe, even with you around." Link turned to look back at her to comment, but she was gone. _Sneaky thief…_ Link thought as he trudged towards the stables. _What did she mean by that?_ Link was exhausted, slightly drunk, and depressed. He hung his head and grabbed Epona. His stable fare was free, and he could come and go as he pleased. A young boy was holding the reigns out, looking at Link's dirt stained face.

"Um, Link… I just… I just wanted to tell you how much I admire you." His small frame, bright blonde hair, and green eyes reminded Link of himself at one time.

"Thank you." He didn't know exactly what to say to him. It was hard enough having to relive the memories, but it was even harder when a child wanted to be like him. Link just lowered his head and mounted Epona. "If you ever… If you ever want to practice sword fighting, let me know. I'll be happy to show you some moves." Link forced a smile, straining his burnt skin.

"Oh! Sir Link, that would be wonderful! I will take you up on that next time we meet!" He was so excited his little voice broke. Link smiled and patted him on the head as he left. He felt sick to his stomach. He felt like he was setting the child up for disaster, death, and war. It was depressing because that was all he knew, and he knew that if anything got in the way of his fate, they too would die.

He reached the edges of the Lost Woods, the Kokiri Forest was just beyond. This was his home, his life, his family. He couldn't face looking at a place where he originally never belonged. Saria was the only real friend he ever had. She was his strength when times were tough. There were always strong feelings with her, like she was a part of him. He considered her a piece of his heart and life, and always will. Saria's childlike disposition confused many, but she was the wisest of any man or woman he had ever met.

_Link, hallo again good friend. What ails you?_ Saria touched his mind with her soft voice. Link sighed and walked Epona to her regular post at the mouth of the cave leading to the forest.

_ I have come from battle with the Carenherts weeks ago. The war was gruesome, terrible, and bloody. I'm losing faith. I needed to come home to be with my thoughts and my friend_. Link walked forward into the cavern. It wasn't long before he was on the bridge to Kokiri Forest.

_Friend, come to me. We will talk in our normal place. I hope you haven't forgotten it in all this time_. Her voice faded from his mind leaving chimes of wind in its place. Link gripped his brown leather jacket.

It was autumn in Hyrule, cold, damp, and red. Link hated the color red, it reminded him for fire, screams, blood. He felt nauseated all of a sudden and swallowed some bile in the process. His face paled as he walked through the tiny Kokiri village. It was so quiet at night time, so serene and peaceful. _Life was so simple here_, he thought feeling sentimental. It had been over a year since he had been back. Nothing had changed, the fireflies were out, a couple Kokiri were playing in their yards, fish jumped randomly to eat anything bug like at the surface.

"Link?! Hallo! It's been such a long time!" It was a smaller girl, she looked eight but her eyes told a different story. It was their age, their eyes always gave away their age. She was probably in her 100's by now. They never aged, and if they left their village they would die. Azura, that was her name, Azura. She was so tiny and frail.

"Hallo Azura. It's been a long time, friend. How are things?" Link asked, leaning against a great tree.

"Oh, same old days Link. Nothing has changed. Mido has gotten nicer in his age, but other than that, nothing has changed. Saria knew you were coming tonight, she's at the temple waiting for you. Are you on your way to see her now?" She bounced on the balls of her feet, giddy with childlike stance, but wisdom beyond Link's short years.

"Yes, she has been expecting me. I'll see you tomorrow Azura. If you need anything, call to me." She nodded and watched Link walk away towards the Lost Wood's entrance. He remembered the stone paths like an old friend. He followed the maze and ended up in his place next to Saria.

"Ah, old friend." He embraced her small frame, almost crushing the wind out of her.

"It's good to see you as well, but let me go, I can't breathe." She laughed as he released her, looking worried as if he might have hurt her. "I'm fine Link. Sit, you've had a long journey for these few months." Link took a seat by her side in front of the Forest Temple. The moon was out sending an eerie glow through the woods, it seemed to always transcend in the forest. The beams were lighting up Saria's green eyes and hair, she was pale skinned and the moon didn't help her complexion. She was just as eerie as those bright moon beams hitting every leaf, branch, and blade of grass in the area.

"I have been gone only a year, but I figure something would have changed by now." Link looked over at her.

"Yes, but there is a stirring in the wind. Something is coming, and I really don't know what it is." Link furrowed his brow and looked down at his boots. "I think we will be ok, but I'm nervous about what you might have to do." She looked worried; _she never gets worried_ Link thought.

"It'll be ok, I'm sure I can handle it Saria." Saria shook her head, green locks bounced around her face.

"No, I don't think it will this time." With that she looked up at the large dead tree, vines hanging off the large single branch, it gave an iridescent glow. "I need to go now… I'll speak with you tomorrow Link." She kissed his cheek and got up from the large trunk.

"Ok, I guess I will see you in the morning, but I have to do some errands. Maybe the evening will be better. Let me know if you find out what is going on." Saria smiled and nodded.

"I will brother." With that she disappeared into the opening on one side of the Forest Temple. Link sighed and stared up at the cloudless sky, the moon hanging over head. He hated the moon after being in Clock Town for as long as he was. He shook off the memory and walked back through the maze to his house. He climbed up the ladder into his tree house. It was just the way he left it. The bed tidy, bookshelves full of books, and his clothes trunks opened and spewing with trinkets and different uniforms. He pulled out his red outfit, one that gave him resistance to fire. He pulled out his steel boots, slingshot, and a drawing he made when he was very young. It was him and Saria holding hands in the forest. Link smiled a little and folded it carefully. He put it on a small wooden table near the larger window in his house. He looked outside, feeling recognition of where he was. Home at last was on his mind. It relieved the stress and burden of despair he carried.

He finally lay down on his bed. It was soft, goose feathers and chicken feathers. He curled up in a ball, just like when he was a small child. He felt so alone, and it was his own fault. She was there, at the bar tonight. She looked just as lovely as the day he met her in the corral at Lon Lon Ranch. Her hair was long, red and lush. It was gorgeous. Her bright blue eyes glowed when she laughed, her lips pink and plump. _I should have said something to her…_ Link gripped his bedding as he felt the embarrassment of their interaction.

"Link, how are you?" Link stood there staring at his drink.

"I'm… I'm tired." He answered her shortly, still refusing to look at her.

"Well, it's really nice to see you in town. Maybe you can come by later?" She smiled, he could see a glow in the corner of his eye.

"Yep. Maybe." He hovered over his beer, putting his back to her. She walked away slowly. He could hear her footsteps changing pace, she had changed her mind at first, but it didn't take long to figure out he wasn't interested in talking to her. Link was, though, he really wanted to talk to her. He, however, had no gusto when it came to women. He was a quiet man, never really thought through when it came to talking about feelings, or what he liked. He didn't really think he even liked much of anything anymore. Fishing was nice, horseback riding, the moon… Slowly as these delicate thoughts crossed his mind, sleep overcame the tired and worn hero.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The following morning filled him with relief; another day meant he was alive. He liked feeling alive, feeling the blood pulse in his throat, his lungs filling with air, eyes sensitive to the bright rays of the morning sun, and the tingly sensation in his hands after sleeping on one of them all night. He stretched and looked outside his window. Small dancing faerie flies were twinkling in the sun light. He smiled and turned to his small table. The counter near his kitchen area had a small loaf of bread and some cheese with a note left under a small rock. _Saria_, Link smiled and walked over to it. His head hurt a little bit from the ale the night before, and for some reason could not remember why he was so depressed that night.

_Eat well my friend. Meet at our special place when you have a moment. The trees have been talking, and I need to speak with you about it. _

_See you soon,_

_Saria_

Link smiled widely and sat with his bread and cheese laid out in front of him. He devoured them both within seconds, scarfing them down like a bear, and chugging a glass of Lon Lon milk. Link stopped for a moment, touching the label with his fingertips as if it would tell him something. _Malon,_ Link frowned and remembered why he was so sad. He didn't say a word to her when she approached him. She must think poorly of him now. Link scratched his head and turned towards his mirror. His dirty blonde hair was a mess, sticking up every which way and looked very dirty, his skin was bronzed from all the sun he had encountered on his last mission, and his shirt was ripped in a couple different places. Link frowned again; he needed a bath and a change.

Link eagerly grabbed his clothes and ran downstairs. He needed to go to the small pond that leads to Hylia through the Lost Forest. When he approached his destination, he looked around suspiciously. He felt the presence of someone, or something, watching him from a bush. He walked over to it and kicked it. Out flew a large owl, one that he had seen before on many different occasions.

"Whoo, whoo…. Link, you are back from your mission!" Link nodded and looked up at the owl.

"Yes, but what are you doing following me? I've been back for weeks now, and I've noticed your presence."

"Ah, you haven't heard then. There is a whisper in the woods, something terrible is on its way." The owl cocked its head to the side and looked at him.

"Yes, Saria mentioned something but I haven't noticed anything yet." Link rubbed his neck and dropped his clothes on the soft ground.

"Well, you need to be on your toes… Be aware this is something that has been brewing since you were a child. Something deep inside the earth… Be aware Link." With that, the owl flew off into the morning sky and disappeared. Link shrugged the eerie feeling off before undressing. He jumped into the pond; it was so deep he couldn't touch the bottom. After bathing, he pulled his clean clothes on and walked off into the forest. He was thinking about meeting with Saria before running some minor errands, but decided to do the errands first.

The day was hot, and Epona neighed happily when Link brought her some water. "There, there girl. There, there. We are going to Lon Lon Ranch today, your home." Epona lapped water and snorted in acknowledgment. Link patted her neck and climbed onto her back. As fast as they could, they galloped straight to the Ranch, Link really wanted to see her again. He wanted to hear her sweet voice, her delicate touch as she hugged his neck. He smiled as the sun kissed his cheeks, the occasional snort of Epona as she galloped through Hyrule Field, the smell of the grass beneath her hooves, all this and the sight of the Lon Lon Ranch ahead. His heart fluttered, palms sweat, mouth dried up. He could feel the nervous tension sneak up his spine as they reached the Lon Lon Ranch barns.

A familiar humming tune was zipping through the air. It was Epona's song. She neighed happily as Link climbed off her back. She galloped into the corral; familiarity with her family was good for Epona's soul. Malon grinned and looked over at Link. Her hair looked so red and firey. Link knew she had a personality to match. Malon walked out of her corral, closing the door behind her and sauntered over to Link.

"I was wondering when you were gonna come visit me, Faerie Boy…" She looked down at her feet, blushing ever so slightly, and slowly lifted her head to face him.

"Epona likes it here, and I enjoy visiting. I think Epona was more excited than I was…" Link bit his lip and looked away from her. "It's getting hotter around here. Last time I was here it seemed like the breezes were cooler. Then again, I was gone for quite a long time." Link shrugged and looked at the Lon Lon Barn, it was falling to pieces. "3 years is a long time for anyone to be gone." Malon smiled slightly and took his hands.

"You didn't say anything to me when you saw me at the bar last night. I was worried I had upset you." Link smiled and gripped her hands.

"No, no, I had just gotten back. I was getting over being so tired. I guess I just dismissed everyone that night, including Jojo."

"Oh, on that note, Jojo came by today. He's been so sweet lately. He runs my errands for me while I take care of Papa. Papa won't stop drinking, and it's getting worse. At least I had Jojo while you were gone. I was worried you wouldn't come back and I wouldn't have anyone to help me." Link was fully aware of her father's drinking problems. He was a nice man, but sometimes treated Malon horribly. He was not aware, however, that Jojo had been personally helping Malon for the past three years. Could he have been helping her do other things as well? Holding her hand when she was worried or frightened, warding off creatures that lurked into her farm at night, holding her when she cried… Link swallowed the jealous notions and let her hands go.

"Jojo is a very nice man. I'm glad he's been so good to you. I hope you don't take this too forward, but is he of a romantic companion for you as well?" Link looked around at everything but her face. He felt dread.

"I don't know, he hasn't asked me to go on a date or anything. He hasn't offered a courtship. Do you think he likes me?" She turned away from Link, facing the horse corral. She had he hands behind her back, it reminded Link of when they first met. Her in the middle of the corral, giggling as the horses played. She sang so beautifully, yet she was so tiny. She had a way with animals.

"It sounds as though he cares a lot about you." Link scuffled his feet and approached her slowly.

"Oh, I am sure he does. I don't know though. I've had one man on my mind, but he doesn't seem to really notice." Link stood beside her, biting the insides of his cheeks.

"Have you told him?" Link wasn't expecting her to even consider him a man she wanted to be with.

"I just did…" She turned to him. Link's heart felt like it was stopping.

"What do you mean?" He turned to look at her, her eyes were big and green. He felt like she was burning into his soul.

"I mean that I have been waiting to tell you for years that I have thought of you constantly. I have tried to find the words to tell you that I am in love with you. I have been for so long, but I can't figure you out. I never could, you're so closed in and hard to read. I loved you since you saved our ranch. You seemed like you actually cared what happens to me…" She looked very sentimental. She looked distressed and upset. "This isn't easy for me Link."

"Link took her hands in his and looked down at her small frame. She looked to vulnerable, and he had never seen her look like this is all his years of knowing her.

"I…" She looked at him, eagerness was on her face.

"Yes?" Link thought of all he represented. How often he was depressed, angry, upset. How no one can understand how mad he gets, why sometimes he snaps and breaks things. Why he yells at the moon, or why he runs off into the forest like a wild animal. He let her go and sighed.

"I'm sorry…" Malon looked crushed. Her face paled and she turned away. Her voice choked up and she turned to look at him.

"It's ok. I shouldn't have even told you." She turned to look at him, forcing the tears to stay away. "Well, I have things to do…"

"Malon, wait… please…." She turned and walked to her house. She sighed and closed her door. Link stood there, shocked at himself. She was all he could ever think about, all he ever wanted, and there he was listening to her pour her heart out. He crushed her, crushed her into a pulp. He turned and looked at the door, waiting a moment, but he felt like her was about to burst. He wasn't going to ruin this.

Link ran towards the front door, opening it and almost pulling it off the hinges. He ran upstairs and opened the door to Malon's room. She was sitting on her bed, twirling a flower in between her fore finger and thumb.

"Link!" She jumped up, wiping away her tears. "I thought you were leaving…" Link walked up to her, grabbing her waist and pulling her towards him.

"I think about you constantly, to the point I dream of you all the time. When I'm fighting the worst beasts in other worlds, you are there, you are what I fight for. I have never been able to wash off the filth and anger, aggression and pain that I go through, but when I'm with you I feel like I'm normal. I get nervous, I get timid, and I get so happy I couldn't possibly wait any longer to hold you, but I wait because I don't want to hurt you ever. I was scared when you finally told me, I was scared that I was going to have a fit and I would hurt you on accident. I don't want to do that to you Malon, I want to kiss you, hold you all night, tell you I love you every day that I see your shining face." Malon stood there, staring, blushing, and letting her tears fall as fast as they could.

"Link, I-" Link cut her off, pressing his hips into her and kissing her ever so lightly on the lips. A man with the strongest arms she had ever felt, being gentle to her was so new. She ran her fingers up to his shoulders, resting on them, and deepened her kiss. Link inhaled sharply, but went along with her. He moved his hands around her back and held her closely. He felt so happy, it flooded out of him.

"I love you Malon, I love you so much…" Link whispered as he continued to kiss her. She gripped onto his tunic tightly; she began to breathe harder and longer. With every breath he could feel her grip tightening on him. He tangled his fingers in her thick red hair, holding her made his heart stop, but kissing her made him feel alive.

"Link, I love you too darling…" Malon pulled away and ran her fingers up his arms handing them behind his neck. He smiled and put his forehead up against hers.

_Link… it's time to go._ Link straightened up and looked at Malon. He was so happy, he wanted to scream and shout about it. "Malon, I have to go, but maybe I can see you tomorrow?" Malon smiled and nodded. "Good, I'll see you then." Link let her go, lingering his fingers at her waist. He turned to look at her one last time, seeing those big green eyes sparkle.

"Good bye Link, darling." She waved to him as he walked out the door. Link stood against the wall, back flat against it, smiling and almost laughing. He had done it, the scariest thing he's ever done, actually talked to her and told her. He even kissed her. Now he just had to protect her from himself.

He started downstairs, pushed past the door, and jumped on Epona. It was time to talk with Saria. She never contacts him unless it's really urgent. He made Epona run as fast as she could back to the Kokiri Forest. It only took an hour or so, but he felt as though it took ages. Finally, reaching the open tunnel he jumped off Epona and took off running to the Lost Forest. When he reached their normal spot, he saw Saria sitting on the same stone pedestal as usual.

"Dear friend, good morrow." Link sat next to her, hugging her softly.

"You smell of milk and sunshine, I'm guessing you were at Lon Lon Ranch?"

"Yes, absolutely. I finally told her. I told Malon how I feel about her, and it's just wonderful." Saria cocked her head to the side, smiling ever so slightly as Link grinned ear to ear.

"Well, that's wonderful Link. I'm happy for you." Saria smiled and looked past him at the walls of the temple.

"What are the trees telling you…?" Link asked solemnly, remembering why he was really there.

"Something terrible is about to happen Link, and it's going to happen soon. It'll look small, like an accident, but it will get worse as the days and nights go on. Some sort of darkness is following us, some sort of darkness is really interested in you." Link scratched his chin, the stubble was starting to grow back. "Are you even listening to me?" Saria grabbed Link by the shoulder startling him out of a daze.

"I'm sorry Saria, I'm just distracted. What is this dark entity? What does it want from me?" Link looked over at her and she rolled her eyes.

"Link, if you don't take your life more seriously, bad things are bound to happen, and not just you." Link sighed and propped his head in his hands.

"I know, it's just I'm so tired of fighting. It's as if the darkness wants to demolish me, and only me. Why can't it pick another hero. I'm sure there are more heroes out there other than me. " Saria sighed and looked at him, her eyes faded with the distant winds.

"Link, it's not their destiny we are discussing, It's yours. You have to understand that life, your life, is something special. You are the most powerful elven in the entire kingdom, and world for that matter. You go to distant places on numerous missions because people have heard your story far and wide. There are songs and stories told about your bravery. I am sure you understand the power you hold within yourself. I know that I do." Link looked over at her, smiled a little.

"You know I'll live up to my reputation, even if I like it or not. I just really hate the memories… My last heroic deed was to keep an entire kingdom alive from Tragrak the Evil summoned by the Carenhert clan. He enslaved so many young women, mutilated them, force them to… do things. I can't talk about it, and it is in my mind all the time. Can you imagine what it must have been like for those women?" Saria shook her head. "It's hard for me because I relive it, every single day, in my sleep, when I'm awake, and I hate it. I'm just so glad that Malon wants something to do with me, now I have a distraction."

"Just make sure that she isn't too much of a distraction. The leaves are falling early this year. That isn't a good sign, just be wary of everything around you." Link nodded and looked over at Saria, but she was gone. Link sighed and looked at his surroundings. Another battle didn't seem like anything to him, but then again it was everything he had ever known. Link was tired, beaten, and felt utterly defeated. His last breaths would be fighting ones, and he knew it. He was so tired of all the bloodshed, the anger, and evil that resided around their world. It was all on his shoulders, and now that he had Malon to think about things were even more intense.

Link looked at his hands, the triforce burned into his skin in large deep scars. It wasn't a scar, more like a mark than a scar. It was raised, bold, and much darker than his already tan skin. The armor gloves he wears in battle and on his adventures had the triforce marked on the outside in gold. When he is in the Temple of Time or near and ancients, sages, or other triforce carriers, it would glow an ominous white and gold. Link glared at it, he felt cursed with the power he carried. It only caused more evil to come, and if it was defeated more would follow. This evil that Saria was telling him about only gave him chills. What more could go wrong, what deaths could possibly occur?

Link slowly walked back to his small tree house. He looked up at the sky and trees. It all seemed so peaceful. He wasn't used to peaceful. He swallowed his sorrows and tried to cheer up. Evi lwasn't here yet, evil was to come, but it wasn't here at this moment. Today will be a good day. Link held his head up high and walked a little faster to his home. When he arrived there was another note tacked to his door. It was from Malon.

_Link,_

_I'm out running errands and asked a Kokiri to give this note to you. They are having one of my favorite dishes on special at the INN, and if you would care to have dinner with me I would be very happy. I know you are very tired, but I think I could help put a hop in your step. I hope to see you there tonight. I'll be there at 8 p.m. sharp._

_ -Malon_

Link smiled and looked at the sun. It was mid-afternoon. He stepped into his house and went straight for the closet. It had some of his old clothes from previous years. He was hoping they would still fit him. He gained some bulk mass over the years, it had been an expenzsive trip. He pulled on his light green tunic made of Elve's silk. It was soft, smooth, light weight, but very magical. He grabbed some brown leather pants and his small dagger. After attaching the dagger to his leg, he looked over at the small table in the middle of the room. There was a gold locket laying across it, something he meant to give to Malon a long time ago. It was the only thing he had that reminded him that he belonged in Hyrule. Saria said that his parents, whoever they were, had left it with him. It was a gift he wanted to give to the woman he loved, as his never ending devotion. Link smiled, playing this the light weight golden chain it glowed when he held it. It was a powerful piece of relic, and it kept Link amused. He opened the locket. Staring at him were a familiar pair of eyes, his own eyes. It was a small painting as it were. When Navi was with him, before she moved on, she always made fun of the picture because of how it looked. It was slightly distorted, due to age, and it was fading. He put a finger over the small painting, brushing his finger over the small face.

After a moment, he snapped the locket shut and put it around his neck. He tucked it within his shirt and turned to head out the door. His boots felt a little tight, but he guessed it must have been from the dagger. He looked up at the ceiling, thinking about how Navi used to fly around his head, annoying him constantly. Since he saved Hyrule, Navi felt like she was no longer needed and found herself a small Kokiri child to be with. A new Kokiri; a lost child taken in by the woods. Never to age, but to gain all the wisdom the lands had to offer. Link shook off the nostalgic feeling and jumped off his balcony to the soft earth.

It was almost twilight by the time he got to Epona. She neighed happily, there was more than enough foliage to keep up with her unsuitable appetite. Link climbed on, rather clumsily since he didn't have all of his gear on, and took off towards the castle. He needed to get there before the gates closed and he was locked out. He hated having to find the other entrances. Malon would be waiting for him though, incentive enough to find any way possible to get to her. His heart fluttered in his chest. He wanted to gaze into those emerald eyes, listen to her lucid voice, hear about the last 3 years of her life he may have missed. Before he knew it, he was in the middle of Hyrule's main square. Link dropped Epona off in the stables and ventured out into the crowds of people. Music clouded the air, stalls were being packed up, people were gossiping about the royal family, and Link felt happy for once. He felt happy because no one had noticed him. He wasn't in gear, he wasn't dressed up to see Zelda or her family, he wasn't ready to go to war or be a hero, for once he was able to go out and act like a normal Hyrulian.

Link looked into the Inn's window. He could see Malon, tapping her fingers against a glass with amber colored liquid in it. She looked around nervously. Link thought she looked so cute. She looked so innocent in a bar. She was wearing a green dress, it hung loosely around her collar bone. It didn't show anything too scandalous, but was very complimentary of her figure. Link sighed, trying to contain the immense amount of nervousness balling up in his chest. He tried to find a decent reflection of himself in the window and messed with his hair and clothes.

When he entered the bar, Meri turned immediately to Link. Her smiled sultry and seductive. Link looked away, bashful as always. He was never good with women, especially when they wanted him. It made him so uncomfortable how easy she was.

"Hey there hero." She purred, "What'll it be tonight? Want to sit up here with me again? I'm a little lonely." Meri leaned forward, her breasts pushing up against the bar showing a ridiculous amount of cleavage. Link sighed and quietly asked for an ale. Meri looked a little saddened when he hurried off to where Malon was seated. Meri had been trying to get Link to fancy her for years, but he always left her alone. _He sure isn't your typical Hyrulian_, Meri thought and took a shot of liquor.

"Good day Malon. I hope you weren't waiting long." Malon looked up, her face a little flushed from her drink.

"Oh no, I wasn't here very long at all." Malon stood up and hugged Link around the neck. Her wrapped his arms around her, feeling comfort and safety in her embrace.

"I'm glad you wrote me. I think I would have come to your ranch. I've been thinking about you so much." They sat across from one another. It was a quiet corner of the Inn.

"Oh, you're so silly Link. It's so odd hearing you speak to me this way." Link gazed at her, making her flush harder.

"Well, it's hard to stay away from something that makes me happy. Why do you think I've been so adamant about coming to see you." Malon smiled and looked up. Link followed her gaze, it was Jojo. Link waved him over to their table, which he gladly agreed.

"Ah, I see the love birds are enjoying themselves?" Jojo grabbed a chair and sat down.

"Ugh, don't call us that." Link grumbled and took a swig out of his mug.

"Sorry, sorry. Ah, Lady Malon. It's so nice to see you. Did you get the shipment you ordered in safely? I tried to be there when it arrived, but I had… other things to tend to." Jojo looked down at his wine and sighed a little. Link wondered what was wrong, but decided to ask him later in private.

"Oh Jojo, I completely forgot. I did get the wool in. I should have had them message you when they left. I guess I was just distracted today." Malon looked at Link and smiled.

"Well, I could understand why. The love of your life is back." Jojo seemed to be irritable and may have already been drunk. Link grabbed Jojo lightly by the arm.

"Can we talk a moment?" Link looked at Malon, she nodded and left the table. She knew a couple of the girls at the Inn and began chattering away. Link saw her edging towards the bar, ordering another drink from Meri.

"What is wrong? You are acting a little out of sorts Jo." Link looked at his friend, he could see the features were hostile and irritated. His eyes had sparks of fire in them.

"Oh, no… It's just, ugh, it's just I took a fancy to Malon. I did everything I could think of, and you were gone for three years. Three years is a long time Link, and Malon needed someone. The moment you came back though, the moment you stepped foot on her property, I was out of the picture. I feel used by her. She acts as though I did these things for her because you were gone. I would still do these things for her, but she doesn't care about me. It's always been you. It will always be you Link. I'm jealous, hurt, and above all else in disbelief. After how you treated her last night, it's like it never happened today." Link felt the pain in his chest immediately. He felt horrible. He never meant to hurt his friend.

"Jo, I never meant to hurt you. I thought you two were just friends."

"Apparently that is all we were, to her that is. I felt such fondness of a pure soul like her. I'm a merchant, I travel constantly, and here she is… The most beautiful, peaceful, kindhearted woman I have ever come across. Then she tossed me aside, like a used blanket. I feel terrible, and I am very angry Link." Malon could see the concern on Link's face from across the room. Link looked at her and shook his head sharply. She did not need to be there.

"Jo, why didn't you tell Malon of these feelings before?" Link was so confused at the way his friend was acting. He had never seen a friend get this upset at an action before.

"Because, Link, she only wanted you. I coveted her for years, and for nothing. I wasted my time being her friend… I fell in love with her, and she still chose you over me. I was there when monsters raided her farm, I saved her life that night. She looked at me in the arms and said, 'Link would be so proud of you,' and it made me happy that she was saying that to be nice to me. Still, though, she was only thinking of you. I feel disgusting…" He looked over at Malon, hatred glowing across his face.

"Jojo, you have had too much to drink. You are angry, maybe you should go home." Link put his hand on his friend's arm. "Go home, sober up. She isn't evil like you think. She is a caring, wonderful person. We have been in love since we were children." Jojo shrugged Link's hand away as if it burned.

"I will see that for myself, Link." Jojo spat. Link looked up at Jojo as he walked away, slamming the Inn door behind him. Malon came back over the table, sitting down next to Link.

"Link, are you alright?" Link looked over at Malon and touched her face.

"I'm fine, Jo isn't though. What happened while I was gone for three years?" Malon took Link's hand and gazed at him.

"While you were gone, plenty of things happened. I wanted to write to you, but I never knew of your position. Zelda always told me it was confidential, I would just have to wait. Well, I waited, three years to tell you everything. Is there some place we can go, without the din of this bar, a place where we can talk?" Link nodded and helped Malon to her feet.

He went to the stables, helping Malon up on Epona, and saddling up behind her. They rode off, the stars twinkling and moon beaming out among the trees. They reached the edge of the Lost Woods. Link dismounted and helped Malon back down. Silently they walked to the old bridge leading to the Kokiri. It was late and cold. Malon was wearing a small jacket, but she still looked very cold. Link wrapped his arm around her. She nuzzled in close to his neck, making his hair stand on end.

"So, what happened?" Link whispered, as if someone could hear them. He knew that Saria was always in the forest, but she did leave him to his space at times when needed.

"When you first left, I tried to be strong. I wanted to be more independent, not have to worry about anything happening to me or my father. I know he can be crude and mean at times, but I still love him. He never had intentionally hurt me… soberly that is. In any case, I felt more alive. I felt somehow liberated. I missed you dreadfully, but I knew that with my new found knowledge of self-discipline I could work towards being more independent, self-sufficient, and work harder than I could before.

Jo always came by. I didn't really require him to be there at all times, but I found comfort in a friend. He would get random updates from the places he traveled to, including where you were. Of course, we had to be quiet about what we knew because it was all confidential. Jo had the means to come and go as he pleased, picking up treasures from distant places. It was nice because he would bring me news of new places, far and wide, and made me feel like I could go somewhere new one day.

His companionship was well needed. It was refreshing from my days alone. I don't really have any friends; the Hylians, Hyrulians, and Kokiri are much grouped, so to speak. I never had a chance to make many friends. Jo seemed to be a great friend, he was an outlying person to the Hyrulians and we had that in common. He started becoming a regular face around the farm. He helped me with the horses, listened to my stories, and even sang with me. He had a small lute which he played songs on. It was really nice. He taught me to read a lot of different books, worked on my grammar, my studies. Can you believe it? I know more about literature than a lot of citzens here. He was a very good teacher.

In any case, months went by, and I felt myself growing stronger mentally, physically. It was a wonderful thing, and I still feel that way. I don't feel so naïve, so young anymore. I felt more aware of who I was. I can thank Jo for that. Jo seemed to want to go with me to different places. Court me and dine me. It was a nice gesture, but I didn't feel the same way. He kept pursuing, and he began to become irritable. It was upsetting because he was such a wonderful friend, but now was weary of me. I began purposely pushing him away because I didn't really want to be around his negativity anymore. I was dealing with more angry outbursts from my father, and Jo seemed overly possessive. He would begin to act mean to anyone talking to me at the bar. He would follow me around asking me why I wouldn't go out with him more often. Then he started getting even angrier, and he grabbed me one day. He bruised my arm, and I got angry. He was a friend, and friends are not supposed to hurt one another." Malon paused and looked down at her arm. She touched it lightly and looked over at Link.

"It was only once. I told him if he did that again, I would personally hurt him. You had trained me enough in the ways of sword fighting and hand on hand combat. Don't worry, how could I forget rolling around in the grass with you." Malon smirked and looked at her feet. Link blushed slightly and glanced toward her. "In any case, he was more than happy to back off when I snapped his wrist backward. That's why he's so angry all the time. I denied him what he wanted…" Malon turned from Link. "It was pretty bad, but you came back and I felt safer. Jo stopped following me once I made it apparent that you are all I think about." Link placed a hand on her shoulder, turning her slightly and pulling her into his embrace.

"Malon, so long as I am here by your side, I will ensure your safety. If you would like to, I offer my house for the night. You can sleep there, and we can just talk. I'll sleep elsewhere in the house. I can make a bed on the floor, and you can have my bed." Malon smiled and held his hand.

"That would be nice." Link offered her his arm and led her into the Kokiri Village. Some of the children were out, but most had turned in for the night. Malon looked around, smiling as the fire flies flew past. It all looked so magical here. She knew she lived in a land of magic, but this was all too new. She had never been in the Kokiri Village before. This was all too new for her. She was introduced to a couple of the Kokiri, smiles and smirks were toward Link making him aware of his insecurities of public affection.

By the time they reached the house, the moon had reached the other side of the sky. Malon was happy to look in Link's home. It was the first time she had ever been there. Link felt strange, though. He had never had a visiter in his home, besides Saria. It was hard, at first, to trust someone like he did with Malon, even harder to let her into his private space. Link took a deep breath in and followed her. Malon smiled at all the boyhood memoirs left scattered on the table tops. She touched his small chair, his messed bed sheets, she looked over at him and smiled.

"I love all this old boyish charm. It is so nice to finally see the real you." She sauntered over to him, her cheeks still pink from whatever she had to drink at the Inn. "I'm glad you let me in." She wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning in closely to his face, and planted firm kiss on Link. He loosened his lips and matched her motions. He gripped the back of her dress, pushing against her. She let out a small gasp, but accepted his firm grip on her body. She could feel her fingers tightening along his back as well, her fingers tracing the muscles in his back. He felt goosebumps forming on his arms and legs, shivers rolled down his spine. He nipped her lower lip and went to her neck. He kissed lightly, letting his tongue trace to her ears.

"Link…" Malon breathed as she was feeling more exasperated.

"Yes my love?" Link halted what he was doing and looked into her green eyes.

"I think we should stop… I'm a little woosy from the ale and wine. I'm surprised you aren't." Link laughed a little and stepped away from her.

"Ok Malon. I understand. Why don't you go lay down?" Malon nodded and wobbled over to the bed. Link smirked and went to his kitchen area. He began making tea, but heard something like a snore. He smiled and turned around. Malon was curled up, dress thrown on the floor, under his rabbit fur blanket, snoring softly. Link sighed and put out the small fire. He grabbed the dress off the floor and put it across his small table.

Link liked having Malon in his home. It felt warmer and happier that way. Link really enjoyed her company, even if she were passed out in his bed. Unfortunately, Link could only think about why Jojo had acted that way with Malon. Would there be any more problems in their future? Would Jo try to hurt Malon? These thoughts began to flood Link's mind. He began to pace, looking out the window at the world around the walls. He felt so small, insignificant knowing how much there was out there, how much space and time that was left to be discovered. Then his mind turned to Nabooru and Saria. There was something significantly wrong with Nabooru, something different. It was almost as if he could see Gannon's wrath in those eyes of hers. They were related, after all. Nabooru was the princess of thieves, someone you didn't' want to run into accidentally. She was deadly, beautiful, and crafty. Link hated the thought of her taking advantage of travelers, but thievery was the last thing on his mind.

Saria knew there was something wrong in the kingdom right now. Maybe Nabooru had something to do with it. Maybe it was going to be another Gannon crisis. Link shrugged off his feelings of anguish. He didn't want to face battle again, not ever. He really felt that his calling should be over. He had seen so much death, pain, anguish. It was something that crossed his mind all the time. It made him irritable, short tempered, but he had to keep it to himself. Link didn't want Malon to see his dark side. It was almost like his dark self was permanently in him, some sort of evil that could surface and cause a disruption in the peaceful qualities he faced now. _What if this is what Saria was talking about?_ Link thought. Malon moaned and Link turned sharply. She made a couple other moaning noises and rolled over. Link smiled again and walked over to the bed. He looked at her face, her nose wrinkling slightly, and it made Link feel happy. He loved her so much, it was almost as if it were going to burst out of him.

Link decided it was time to turn in for the night. Since Malon took the bed, he decided to make a pallet on the floor. It was kind of fun, almost like camping, almost. Link laid down and looked up at his curved roof. The wood chipped away at different places, the curves of the layers of growth, the color. Trees always told a story the Kokiri could identify with. This tree was confusing because Link was never a real Kokiri. He was an adopted child, but one that was allowed to leave. He always had an identity problem, and it always bothered him. He had to block this analysis out. He needed to rest.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Malon woke Link up with a small kiss. She was wearing her green dress again, her hair tousled and frizzy, but she looked radiant. Link smiled and placed his hand on her cheek. "It is so nice to wake up to a woman so beautiful." Malon smiled widely and gave him a hand up. Link took it and stood up facing Malon. He studied her freckles, her smile, and her lush lips. He leaned in and kissed her lightly. He could feel himself getting roused, but kept calm. He trained himself in keeping his composure.

"I should probably get home, Link." Malon said, looking toward her feet as if she were hiding something.

"Well, I thought maybe we could go on a ride first?" Malon looked up curiously. "I'll make a basket for breakfast, we can take it to the lake, enjoy the air before taking you home to work?" Malon smiled and agreed with the suggestion. Before they knew it, they were on their way to the lake. It was early morning, the sun's rays had not struck the land yet, but left a small glow in the horizon. Pinks, purples, blues and yellows were painted in the sky. It was a beautiful morning. Link loved riding with Malon, her skin and body against him, her delicate frame yet strong muscles that he felt against his chest as she leaned into him. Link could smell the sun and flowers in her hair, the years of being outside all the time. Link learned so much about Malon when they first met, that she didn't even have to tell him about herself. He could tell her favorite color was green, that she was a primarily happy woman, that she enjoyed her moments of free time in the pasture with the animals, and that her most famous feature was singing.

When they reached the lake, Link helped Malon down. She never really needed it, but it was something that was courteous to do. A knight always took care of his woman. Malon grabbed the small wicker basket and walked out to the lake's edge. The water was always crystal clear. Fish were dormant near the bottom, and Malon could see swarms of tiny flies landing while they still had time to. Link came up behind her and took her by the hand to join him on a large blanket made of wool. As they chatted, ate and reminisced, Link had a peculiar feeling that they were being watched. Link shrugged off this notion and enjoyed his red apples and honey. Malon could sense something was wrong with him though.

"What is going on? You keep looking around. Is there someone here?" Link laughed a little and took a tiny glance behind Malon.

"No, no… It's alright. I just thought that maybe someone was around, watching us." Malon looked concerned, but Link reassured her. "Please, let's not let my paranoia ruin this wonderful morning." Malon nodded and continued eating her fruit. They continued their chatter, but Link still felt like something was wrong.

"Well, that was just delicious Link. Thank you, but I really need to go home now. Father will be up any minute, and he'll be very unruly with me if he realized I had been gone over night. Then again, if I were gone overnight with you, he might not care as much." Malon laughed and mounted Epona. Link jumped on after her and snapped the reigns. It was about a 5 hour journey back to her ranch on Epona. They had a while to go, but Link could still feel eyes on him. It seemed like something was very wrong ,and he couldn't figure out exactly what it could be. Malon could feel his tension radiating off his body like a fever.

"Will you please tell me what has gotten you so upset? Did you have a bad dream, maybe saw something during breakfast?" Link didn't know what to tell her. He didn't have an answer to why he was so skeptical of everything around him.

"I don't know Malon. I'm just going to get you home as fast as I can, and you have to promise me you will go upstairs and lock all the doors. Make sure you are barricaded in there until I come to you. Promise me…" Link drew out his ocarina and played Saria's Song. Her voice came readily to his mind as if she were sitting next to him.

_Link, what is the matter… Who is with you?_

_It's Malon. _

_No, not Malon… There is another presence. You need to arm yourself. Bring Malon somewhere safe. Then I need you to return to the Lost Woods, I will be here waiting for you. Be careful, be weary. _Link sighed and rushed Epona to move fast. When they reached Lon Lon Ranch Link ushered Malon up to her door.

"Link, are you forcing me in my home? You are acting so strange." Link sighed and held Malon in his arms.

"Something is wrong around here, and you are not safe with me right now. I need you to go inside, lock yourself in, and stay in." Malon looked upset, but Link didn't have time to deal with her feelings. He felt insensitive, but there was nothing more he could do.

"Link, I'm always safe with you." Malon said disappointedly.

"I know, I know, but I can't right now. I don't know how to protect you if I can't see what it is I'm trying to protect you from." Malon sighed and gave up.

"Ok, fine, but you owe me dinner." Link smirked and gave her a quick kiss goodbye.

"Remember what I said! Barricade yourself Malon! Do not let anyone in or out of your home, under orders of the Royal Guard!" Malon nodded and waved at him as he jumped on Epona's back. "I love you!" Link called out.

"And I love you, Link!" Malon called back as he turned to leave. She smiled and leaned against her front door, but knew she wasn't safe. Link was never this protective unless there was a serious reason for it. She shut her door, locked it, and ran upstairs to her room. Her father was still asleep with the cuccoos in the hay loft and probably wouldn't be awake for another hour or so. It was almost noon time, and she was beginning to get hungry, but there wasn't much left in the pantry. Malon shrugged and walked to her room, looking out the window at the pasture. The horses were grazing peacefully in the corral, and she could hear the cows mooing softly in the barn. It was her relaxant. She wanted to be outside, to eat honeysuckle, listen to the sounds of nature, but she knew it would go against everything Link had told her to do. Malon couldn't feel what Link was feeling. She didn't have the gift to almost predict what was to come, all she knew was that something was bothering Link, something was following them.

There was a knock on the door downstairs; she could hear it past her father's snores. It was surprising he had been asleep for so long. She peered out her window and saw Jojo. She sighed and walked downstairs. Jojo was a patient man, but when she opened the door he looked nervous and on edge. "What's the matter Jo?" Malon asked, letting him in despite Link's warnings.

"Look, I need to talk to you, it's about yesterday. I feel terrible. Can you let me in so we can discuss this problem?" Malon sighed and stepped out of the door way.

"We are still friends, aren't we?" Malon asked as he started up her stairwell.

"I would like to think that Malon. I'm just concerned about Link. I want to talk to you about it…" Jojo looked back at Malon. She hesitated and eventually followed. He sat on a small chair near her window. It was bright outside so he pulled the curtain partially down to block the sun. Malon sat across from him, studying is sun worn face. She felt bad for him. He was so in love with her that she could sense it. It was as if he were wearing a scent she could smell.

"Malon, Link is unstable. You know this. He's unpredictable, ruthless when he drinks, and seems to only be concerned about danger. Malon, please be cautious. Look at you, you are frail yet strong. You can be easily manipulated." Malon looked at him scornfully.

"Look, I don't care. He has been my best friend for many, many years. I knew him far longer than you, and I trust him. I consider you a friend, a wonderful friend, but nothing more. I don't know how to tell you this and have you understand." Jo got up and turned around. He seemed so tense, so angry.

"Malon, you are naïve. I tried to show you there is a different life. A life without pain, without regret. A life where someone could really care about you, and only you. You would have the life you want, and I could keep you safe and happy. You would never have to worry if I were going to be alive today, tomorrow, etcetera. " He started to pace. Malon sat, woefully looking beyond the frantic boy in front of her.

"Jo, you are getting too far ahead of yourself. I cannot love you because I love Link. I have always loved Link. You are becoming a serious problem for me, mentally and emotionally." Jo stopped and looked at her.

"I can't believe you would say this. It would have been so much easier, for everyone, if you would have gone along with me. There is a terrible tragedy about to happen, Malon. I can sense it, can't you? There is a change in the world, and we are all caught in the middle of it. That is why I left my home world, I left it so I can be safe here in Hyrule. That problem has followed me, though. It had followed me here and I can feel it." Jo's voice was waivering.

"What are you talking about Jo?" Malon looked at him, her eyes furrowed in worry.

"It doesn't matter. You have a choice, make one…" Malon scowled at him, she flushed red and stood up.

"How dare you. I tell you we are friends, you tell me I need to make a choice after I already told you I am in love with Link. I respect how you feel, but I do not and never will share that with you. I'm sorry that had disappointed you, and I'm sorry you feel so much hatred you had to make up some elaborate story to suck me in, but right now I cannot trust you. I thought you were a nice man, someone who I could talk to, learn from, and relax with. Link comes back, and you are so have become a stranger. Link considered you a friend, as did I. Now I don't know what to think, and I have a feeling you are plotting something against Link and me. Tell me what you want instead of playing these games, or get out of my house and never come back." Malon had tears streaming down her face. She felt so angry and depressed. She had only felt this toward her father.

Jo charged over to her, grabbing her arm. She bowed at the pain. "Women should learn to keep their mouths shut. Especially women like you." He thrust her against the wall, pinning her between the wall and himself. "You want to know what I want? I'll show you. I'll do everything in my power to make you mine. You can fight me, scream at me, hate me, but eventually you will be mine." Malon slapped him with her free hand. He pulled both arms toward him and slammed her into the wall. Malon felt really dizzy, and could feel her legs buckle. "I came from a faraway land, one that had women like you. It was terrible, they all talked, all the time. That's the worst part about women, they don't know how to shut up." Jo slammed her against the wall again. Malon let out a cry, but he slammed her into the wall again. "I said SHUT UP! Malon, Malon, Malon… tsk tsk. I am disappointed. Since Link isn't here to save you, what will you do? Try to break my arm again, show me a tumble? It would be a pity if something happened to your father, your ranch, you…" Her took a strand of her hair and wrapped it around his finger. "Man, you are a beauty though. Maybe I could cut out that tongue. Women talk too much." He pulled on the strand, Malon moaned in pain. She could feel herself getting groggy. She felt so dumb for going against Link, going against his warnings.

"Jo… please… stop this. I will do what you want. Don't hurt my family." Malon felt him let her go and she fell down. She was on her knees, holding her head in her hands. "What do you want me to do?" Jo grabbed her arm again and yanked her to her feet. Malon looked around quickly, thinking of what she could grab to defend herself and possibly get away.

"You are going to come with me." He tightened his grip on her arm. "You will not speak, you will not argue, you will not try to escape, and everything will be fine." He loosened his grip and grabbed her by the hand. He opened her door and led her downstairs. Malon could hear the horses, smell her meadow, but something else was present. Malon was pushed out of her front door, her father still snoring. She figured Jojo must have knocked her father unconscious or drugged him with a sleeping potion. She felt her face flush with anger. Malon felt the hard ground on her hands and knees. She looked up to see two large black battle horses. A man dropped down and greeted Jojo.

"Jodien Carenhert, what are you doing? We are going to the castle, and you are fraternizing with some, milk maid." Malon felt dirt being kicked in her direction.

"She's coming with me, this will be my companion. You cannot deny me what I want, father." Malon looked up from the ground, she felt something wet on the back of her head. She placed her hand on the area, realizing there was blood all over her. She heard Jojo's father scoffed at him, and Malon felt a strong hand on her arm. She was lifted off the ground and pulled up next to a large man, he looked just like Jojo. The man had a large dark beard, deep blue eyes, dark sun worn skin, and a handsome face. Malon felt sick, and threw up next to the man. He made a disgusted noise and threw her back into Jojo's direction. He caught her and picked her up. "I may have been a bit rough on her, but, father, us Carenherts get what we want don't we?" Jo threw Malon onto the other black battle horse and mounted it after her. "To the castle, father?" Jojo's father looked over at him and shook his head.

"Son, we aren't very predictable, but please stop acting like an arse when it comes to tactical issues. Of course we are going to the castle, of course we are going to continue our mission. Just stop acting like a child, and you bring that girl to camp so she can get fixed up. If you are going to make her yours, then you better work on the way she looks." Jo's father jumped on his horse's back and galloped across the stable and jumped over the small fence barricade. The moment Jo began following his father, Malon fainted.

Link made his way to the Lost forest before the rain started. He could hear the rolling thunder clashing behind him. He felt the rain drops fall heavily on his head as he ran to the usual spot. Saria was pacing, and when Link came forth she ran to him and hugged him. Link could feel her shivering. The rain was falling really hard now, and he could barely hear himself think.

"Link, there's a problem, something is happening. A troop of men on large black battle horses have appeared near the border. I don't know what to do." Saria let him go and paced more. "The forest is really sending alarms off, the owls have flown away, the animals are all in hiding, and I have not been able to communicate with any other sages. I fear the worst Link." Link sat down and rubbed his head.

"I can't believe they are here. I left that battle, I left the land doing the duty I did. I told them not to follow, there would be now pursuit, nothing will be solved by attacking this land. I spent three years in that pit of death and they are here. The Carenherts are a brutal mass of men and women who will stop at nothing to conquer. I thought I taught them a lesson, I thought I destroyed their power. I must have been mistaken." Link stood up and looked at Saria. "I will fix this, I just need to talk to them. Can you sense where they are?" The moment Link said this his hand seared in pain. His triforce was glowing red. He had never seen it do this, it must mean something. Zelda was the only one who had the same marking including Gannon. Saria stared at his hand and looked up at him, staring into his eyes.

"They must be in the castle, Zelda must be in trouble. You need to secure the royal family. Save the castle, barricade it, save the ones you love Link. Be wary of all men or women dressed as regular Hyrulians." Saria let him go and pointed towards the tunnels.

"Be well, friend." Saria nodded and turned away. Link knew something terrible was going to happen. He knew what he needed to do. He ran to his house, barreling down into the cellar where a large chest lay. He opened it, pulling out his battle gear that he had obtained over the past three years. He dressed in magical mesh which was impervious to arrows and swords. He wore his green tunic and pulled on leather pants. He put his shield on his back and grabbed the ancient master sword. It was battle time, and he was battle ready.

He ran outside, the rain still pouring onto his face. He looked around and saw that there was purple and white lightening striking in the distance. Link knew something wasn't right. It was most likely a magical conjuring of energy from someone deep within Hyrule. He knew there were mages that lived deep within the kingdom. The Great Faeries had been training multiple Hyrulians to become great magicians, but unfortunately the mages under the Great Faeries' rule became disloyal. They turned on their own kind because they possessed power that others did not have. Link figured that this was a statement of a shift in power. They must have sided with the Carenhert people.

Link ran through the forest, mud splattering all over his battle gear, and he could feel the crushing of twigs and branches. Link ran faster using longer strides and pacing himself. He wasn't the strongest runner, but when urgency was involved, he knew what he had to do. He reached Epona and took off towards the castle. When Link reached the gates, he could see the smoke rising from a few houses. He panicked, thinking there had been an attack, but it was chimney smoke. Link rode through the market square, ignoring the people making protests as he splashed water and mud on them. Link had no time to quarrel, it was time to speak with Zelda whether she wanted to or not.

Link and Zelda hadn't talked since six months prior to him leaving. She had expressed how much she wanted him to come back to her. Although she was beautiful, stunning, glamorous, and the most powerful woman in Hyrule; Link could not reciprocate the feelings. Link recalled the last memories as he reached the castle's gates:

_"Zelda, please stop." Link grabbed her arm, gently, as she turned away._

_"No Link. I am upset with you. I thought you felt the same way, but how could you just blatantly tell me you have absolutely no feelings for me? How can you be so awful, straight forward, you couldn't let me down easy? I swear, I will put up walls around myself stronger than elven magic. I will never let anyone hurt me like this ever again." She turned quickly, her hair fluttering around her head in a fury of gold. Her eyes were bright blue, tears streamed down her face. Link pulled her into a hug._

_"Zelda, if I didn't tell you how I felt, I would be a terrible person to lie to you. I don't know how I could have let you down easier. You were distraught over the thought of me traveling to another place for so long, when you kissed me you caught me off guard. I never meant to push you away and hurt you deliberately. I just don't share these feelings for you." Zelda pushed herself away from Link, scowling at him._

_"I hope you have a safe journey, Link…" She wiped the tears away and turned to her window. Link sighed and let his arms fall to his sides._

_"I'm sorry princess, I will leave your quarters. I will prepare for my journey, and speak with you another day." He could see Zelda tense up. Link left, quietly shutting the door._

Link closed his eyes for a moment, hoping that she would have forgiven him by now. He dismounted Epona and ran to the castle's courtyard. He recognized several of the royal horses, but there were two large black battle horses attached to the stable. Link inhaled sharply as he recognized the Carenhert signature on the saddle, and noticed it was Captain Dorian Carenhert's steed. Link thought he would have kept to their agreement, not to expand, not to pursue their quest but to retreat. Link knew that this was terrible. There would be so much death and destruction on both sides.

Link obtained access to the castle through a small opening that he had found as a child. Although Link was a welcomed guest among the guards, he didn't want to be seen by the Carenherts. By the time he made it to the small, private court yard, he could see Zelda sitting on her throne. Dorian was standing in front of her, looking angry. Link had his hand on his sword and carefully walked up to the small decorative window. Impa was standing beside Zelda's throne, she had he hand on her sword as well.

"You will grant us access to your abilities princess, or you are calling war upon your people." Spat Dorian, getting very close to Zelda.

"You lost the previous battle with our men and Link, the Hero of Time. You will perish if you pursue this ridiculous quest for our magic storage. I don't know what you even plan on doing with it, but our faeries will never give you what you want." Zelda leaned forward in her throne, her father must have been in his chambers. He stayed sick for the most part.

"Princess, please reason with me. If you do not comply with my preposition, I have an entire infantry outside Hyrule's borders that will cross over and destroy all villages closest to us. You wish to risk the lives of hundreds of people?" Zelda stood up and got in his face.

"Threaten me again, I'll have your head cut off immediately." Dorian stood there, staring at her.

"If you do that, they will attack regardless. I gave them a week, if I did not come back they are ordered to proceed. My son is there, with his new woman. She's a Hyrulian, poor dear. He never takes no for an answer, it's a shame though. I wish he were a bit nicer to them. Many men in my troops treat women quite poorly. I know that some of those villages in the Gerudo valley have a lot of women as a general population. We wouldn't want an entire armed force of men to come in and destroy them, what they represent, and in general be nasty. I will negotiate with you, princess, I'll leave here, give you a day to think about what you want. Tomorrow, I'll come back and get my answer." Zelda looked furious. "Come, Horus, lets go. I have to make sure my son hasn't ruined anything." Dorian walked away, slowly, leaving a lasting hatred fuming around the room. After he left the throne room, Zelda sat in her chair, holding her head in her hands. Link presented himself shortly after.

"Link?" She asked looking up from her hands.

"Zelda, what is going on? Why is the Carenhert clan here?" Zelda shook her hair, long golden tendrils falling past her face.

"He wants to use our magic supply. We only have so much, I tried to be diplomatic but it is no use. I can't believe this. I don't know how they think this will be a logical plan. We are so much stronger than they are. Even if the outlaw mages help them, we are backed by the Great Faeries. I wish the sages would come to my aid at this time. It's so hard doing this alone, especially when father is sick." She stood up and sent Impa away. "I would never admit this, but I'm terrified." Link stood next to Zelda, grasping both of her hands in his.

"I know what to do. It won't be easy, but do not give in. I will fight, alongside anyone else who wants to help. I know that the women in Gerudo Valley will fight, even if his men go there. They will die before they do anything to those women. We have so many great entities here in Hyrule. We will be ok. We will win. I already warned them, before I left, that this was a dumb idea. I told them to surrender, and they did. I don't understand it. Something must have happened after I left." Zelda looked into Link's eyes.

"I'm glad you're here. We didn't have a very nice fare well before you left for war." Link smiled a little and looked past here. Impa was back, standing next to the throne. Zelda looked over at her and nodded.

"I guess you have to go?" Link asked as she pulled away.

"Yes, I need to tell my father what happened." Link nodded and watched as Zelda walked away. She stopped before she reached the door, "Link?"

"Yes?"

"We will be ok. Wont we?" She turned and looked at him.

"Yes, we will." At that, Zelda turned and left. Link stood in the darkened throne room, a chill running down his spine. It was time to prepare.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Malon woke up. She was in a white sleep gown, she had been bathed and scrubbed. Her head was throbbing, but wasn't bleeding anymore. She was inside a large white silk tent. She was lying in a bed of rabbit furs and goose feathers. She felt very soft, new, refreshed, but absolutely terrified because a man was lying next to her. It wasn't Link, it was Jo.

Jo rolled over to his left, looking right at her. She held her breath, trying not to cry out.

"Malon, how are you feeling, dear?" Malon bit her lower lip and looked over at him.

"Do you want me to answer honestly?" Jo scowled and put his arm around her hips. "I feel disgusting…" She growled and removed his arm from her.

"Now, that's no way to treat the man of your dreams." She made a face at him and looked out past the curtain door.

"Well, you aren't. I just did this so you would leave my loved ones alone, but now I see you have other intentions. You are going to hurt everyone I love, regardless if I'm here with you or not." She slowly turned and looked at him. Her head was beginning to ache. "Whether or not you hurt me, torture me, break me down, my spirit will survive, and I will fight you the whole time until I can get as far away from you as I need to." Jo stood up, only wearing elven silk pants, and grabbed Malon's waist.

"Are you willing to do that, every night?" He forced a kiss on her, making her gag. She tried to push away, but he was very strong. He let her go and she wiped her mouth.

"You disgust me." He smiled at her and pushed her outside of the tent.

"Well, I guess you can just sleep outside then." She shivered at the cold. Two men were walking by and took notice of her. They both smiled greedily. She realized she was wearing white silk and it was almost see through in the moon light. Her frame was very prominent, and she was a very curvy woman. Both men approached her, and she pushed past them, folding her arms across her chest. Both men decided to follow her, and she knew the game was on. She began to run, swerving in between tents, jumping behind trees, but the moment she thought she was finally at the end of camp there was a force field. She couldn't believe it. This was a type of magic she had never seen before. She touched thin air, but there was a force there not letting her through. Malon sighed; feeling defeated, and slowly walked through camp back to the tent. She opened it slowly. Jo was sitting on the bed, patting a spot next to him. She hesitated, but sat down. Her gown was frayed at the bottom, the white turned brown from the mud, her feet were numb from the water that was all over camp, and she felt exhausted.

"I thought I was the disgusting one. You are all covered in mud. Did you have an issue sleeping outside with my guards? They enjoy having women for company every so often." Malon looked down, trying to hide the tears that were streaming down her face. She could feel Jo sliding his hand up her leg, she could feel him pulling her closer to him. She didn't know what to do. Screaming would just make things worse. She decided to yell anyway.

"Get your stinking hands off me Jo! I can't believe this! Why are you doing this to me?!" She slapped him across the face.

"You bitch. You are the only one I could never get. I'm attractive, powerful, rich, and you are the only one that won't be with me. Everyone else could, but oh no, not you." He seethed and threw her down into the bed. Malon looked up, startled and upset.

"You can't force someone to love you!" She yelled as he crawled on top of her. "You can't do that to a person Jo, can't you see that?" She kicked her legs trying to free herself but it was no use. He was stronger than she was. She felt defenseless.

"I know I can't, Malon, but I can pretend…" He forced another kiss on her, running his hands up her sides. She tried to push away but it was no use. She bit his tongue as hard as she could. She could taste the blood before she could hear the startled scream. He jumped up off of her, smacking her to the ground. She fell hard, scraping her elbows against the carpet. She spit the blood out on the floor and turned to face him. He was holding his hands up to his mouth, blood streaming down his neck. Malon got up as fast as she could and pushed past him. He grabbed her arm, but it was slippery with blood and she escaped.

Malon ran back outside. Her feet were so cold, she thought that she was getting burned by the slush and mud. _How can it be so cold when it has been so hot?_ She thought to herself. She shook the random thought away from her mind and started to run. She hid behind a few tents, looking around to see if she could find a hiding place, but she did not recognize where she was. It seemed like she was too far from Hyrule that it wouldn't even matter. A gust of cold wind blew and it made her shiver. She turned and saw a few black flags raised and blowing in the wind. She sneaked towards them, looking at a portal. She smiled, _That's my way out of here_. She walked towards it, but knew something was wrong. It was probably a trap. There was no one guarding the gate. She stood there, contemplating, she was bare foot and wearing a silk night gown, there was no way she could outrun a guard, but she had the advantage of being on her own in light clothing. She inhaled deeply, and right as she took a step she was apprehended from behind.

"NO! NO NO NO!" She screamed and kicked, but the grip was too strong. She tried to bite him, but he was wearing battle gear. She was thrown to the ground and she hit her head again. She looked up and saw Jo's father standing over her, licking his lips and reaching for her. She cried and scooted back against a tree, but it was no use, there was no escape. _This is it, this is my nightmare, my real life nightmare.…_ She thought as he gripped her arm and dragged her away.

Link rode Epona straight to Malon's house. When he got there he already had the feeling that something was seriously wrong. Talon was outside, pacing, looking around wildly. Link jumped off Epona and ran to him.

"Where is she?!" Link yelled, grabbing Talon by the shoulder.

"I- I don't know. I don't remember. Jo came over to deliver some goods I asked for, and we had an ale. The next thing I know, it's storming outside, it's pitch black, and there's blood on the floor. " Link covered his face with his hands and walked back a few paces. "I didn't know what was goin' on Link. I woulda protected her, my own daughter. It's just strange that the door wasn' forced or nothin'. She must've known him, or her." Link paused and looked at Talon.

"The door wasn't forced?" Talon turned and shook his head, no. "Who could it have been? I need to talk to Jo, maybe he would…" Link stopped for a moment. Talon looked warily up at Link.

"That son of a bitch. He's who done it!" Talon exclaimed, throwing a glass mug at the wall of his house.

"We don't know that for sure, but it seems like it. I'm going to figure out where their camp is. You stay here, she might make it back here. She's so strong, she can make it back here if she's in trouble. You stay here Talon, please." Link gripped Talon's shoulder in a friendly gesture and turned to run to Epona.

Link left Lon Lon Ranch and headed for the Gerudo Fortress. It was time to make friend and allies. It would take about 5 or 6 hours to reach them, but he would try a few risky short cuts to get there faster. He hated the thieves, but it was his only hope. He just hoped he had something to barter with.

The sun was slowly setting and he finally reached their fortress. The sand monsters were few, but still around and had avoided Link. His last few encounters were almost deadly, but he knew how to avoid them. Two female guards were waiting outside, armed from foot to head with bows, arrows, daggers, swords and knives. Link dismounted Epona and walked up to the women. They stood their ground and blocked Link from entering.

"What do you want, faerie boy?" Link rolled his eyes.

"Move it, I need to speak with Nabooru. It's important." The guards look at each other and nodded.

"Fine, but one of us will accompany you." Link nodded and followed one of the women in.

Nabooru was sitting in her room, playing a small harp. She looked over at Link and the guard.

"Ah, I see we have a guest. Lillia, leave us. He means no harm, or he would have already done it." The guard nodded and ducked out of the room. Link watched her leave and stepped into the room. It was lit by large fire canisters, they created large shadows all over the stone walls of her room. Nabooru set her harp down and walked over to a bowl filled with fresh fruits. She took an apple and offered one to Link.

"No, I'm not hungry. I need your help, and it pains me to do so." Link scowled. Nabooru smiled and sat down on a small pillow on the floor.

"What do you want then?" She asked, making loud crunching noises as she ate.

"I need to brief you on a situation. You need to get all the women out of here, tonight. We can go to Hyrule, no one will bother you there. We need reinforcements. We need help. That war I was on, the one with the Carenherts, well, they are here. They are prepared to ambush all outlying villages. Yours is priority one, because of the women, they think you are vulnerable, but I don't know their numbers. We need to move, and we need to move now." Link felt weakened, vulnerable, and violated. He was talking to a strict enemy of Hyrule, his woman was in the clutches of someone, and he couldn't trust anyone.

"Fine, we'll go, but we require absolute hospitality. Unfortunately, not all of us can go, but most of us will. My women know how to kill, know how to fight, and they know how to protect themselves." Nabooru sighed and set her apple down on the table. "I know we haven't been the best of friends, but we can't not trust each other right. We have to set our differences aside, and work to create a strong force. We will fight together, and that will have to do. I know the Carenherts, I was there during the last war." Link stood there, stunned.

"What do you mean you were there?" Link asked.

"I was asked to assist the defenders in the war. We cloaked ourselves as men and set foot on the field. I fought next to you on several occasions, but you were fighting so hard. I have never seen anyone kill like you kill." Link turned and walked towards the door.

"Get everyone out of here. It will begin tomorrow. We need a plan. I'll evacuate anyone else along the outskirts of Hyrule. Just hurry, we leave in one hour." Link stepped out of her chambers and walked back out. He could hear Nabooru following him out. He turned to look, and she was leaning against her door frame, chewing on another apple. She was elegant in a way, her slender frame, dark skin, bright golden eyes, and that strong nose. She disappeared back into her room. Link sighed and kept walking. He hated calling for help, especially when that help was someone he hated.

As Nabooru finished having holding her meeting with her other thieves, she came to Link. He was standing outside, looking at the moon, and patting Epona on the neck. He was thinking of Malon. _Where are you?_ He thought, gripping the reins on his horse. Nabooru gripped Link's shoulder, which he quickly turned in response. He had his hand tightly gripped on his sword, but sighed in relief. He was on edge, and didn't know what to expect.

"At easy faerie boy. We have all agreed to evacuate immediately to Hyrule. We will make camp in the fields near the castle. We require food, water, and weapons when the time comes." Link nodded and mounted Epona.

"I suggest we ride now. Zelda will be pleased to see you are cooperating. I have to head to Death Mountain and warn the people there of the upcoming battle. I know there will be one when Carenhert returns to the castle tomorrow. He gave her a dead line, and I don't think she is going to meet it." Nabooru nodded in agreement. Link held up a hand as a farewell and took off towards Kakariko Village. It was another 5 hour journey, but he knew he could make it before the sun came up. He was tired, weary, and hungry. He had to stop soon, but he knew there was no point in pausing yet.

The sun was peaking over the hills by the time he reached the Kakriko Village. He waved at the guard near the gate as he rode through. He looked at all the houses that he had grown familiar with over the years. The Inn was up ahead. Link decided it might be a good idea to stop for a drink of milk and food before heading to Death Mountain. He also needed to change into fire gear.

When he got to the Inn, people were bustling in and out. Everyone was talking in hush voices, whispering about some tragedy that was about to unfold.

"Did you hear that in Hyrule Market? I don't believe it. She wouldn't put her own people in risk like that, would she?" Whispered one woman to her friend.

"I don't know. Meri told me the news because she was in the castle that day. Some man dressed in black and silver armour was leaving. Apparently he was mighty angry with her. I'm sure it was just some trade agreement gone wrong, but Meri seemed quite concerned. She heard a guard talking about a possible war. I'm planning on getting out of here today. I don't want to be caught in the middle of this. My children don't need to be exposed to such things, especially after their father died." Link pushed them aside as he reached the bar. He couldn't believe Meri was already worrying the town's people. He didn't remember seeing her at the castle the day before, but he did sneak around everyone in order to talk to Zelda.

Meri was scrubbing down the bar, her hair in a mess of tangles. She looked really tired, it must have been a long night. Link sat on a stool and looked at her. She must have been worried because he had never seen her look so worn down.

"Link? This is a surprise. You are never here this early. I'm almost off my shift." Link laughed a little and put 5 rupees on the bar.

"Well, I had a long night. I need some food and milk if you don't mind." Meri smiled and shook her head no.

"I don't mind. Where are you off to?" She turned and worked on pouring a large glass of milk and lit the fire under the kettle.

"I have business in Death Mountain. I need to talk to their chief." Link guzzled down the milk and waited for his breakfast. She piled some stew into a bowl with some stale bread and slid it over to him.

"What are you going to need them for?" Link looked up from his food and sighed.

"You need not worry yet Meri. We will handle things. For now, please, just stay calm, stay indoors, and cooperate with whatever comes your way." Link scarfed down the rest of his food and stood up, dropping 5 more rupees on the table. "Be well Meri." He turned and walked out of the Inn.

He saw Liza, first, the girl with the small cucco farm scurrying around. She always managed to lose her cuccos. Link thought she was a kind woman, she had a big heart and kindness through and through. She reminded him of Malon, always. They were cousins to an extent. Liza smiled at Link and waved. He nodded toward her and hurried past her farm. He looked toward the grave yard, but it always gave him terrible memories.

Link headed up Death valley, it was a long treck, and by the time he reached the mountain's cave it had begun to heat up. Link looked up at the sky, it was almost noon. He sighed and ran inside the cave. The gorons all knew him, and considered him a brother. By this point, their population had grown exceptional. The cavern was huge, and there were new tunnels being made constantly. Link avoided a few pathways knowing how rambunctious the gorons were when they were rolling around. The faster they went, they happier they were.

Link made it to the large circular room with a large statue in the center. He learned to avoid it because it liked to move. He came to Darunia's door and played Zelda's Lullaby. The door opened automatically and he rushed in. The cavern looked a little different, it was glowing red and was a lot hotter than what he remembered. Darunia was sitting on his throne, looked over some stones with markings Link never recognized. Darunia was startled by Link's presence and jumped up. Once realizing it was Link, he subsided back into his throne.

"You worried me for a moment, Link." He grumbled, setting aside the stones.

"Yes, I'm sorry. My presence is somewhat urgent. I did not have time to summon for you. I needed to speak with you directly about a scheme that is taking place." Darunia leaned foreward, inching towards Link's face. Link sighed and stepped forward into the light.

"What is the matter?" Darunia asked, realizing Link never looked this serious unless there was a serious issue.

Link told the story of what he overheard with Zelda and Carenhert. He recommended Darunia move his people out and keep some here for defense purposes if it came to that point. He had to figure out a way to hide or move all the Kakariko out of their homes, and he didn't know how to persuade them without help from Darunia.

"I'll see what I can do. I'm sure I will have all the people, especially women and child, out of Death Mountain, Valley, and Kakriko as soon as possible. We will take refuge in Lake Hylia. Link, go to Hyrule, tell Zelda we will be there soon." Link nodded and turned away. He could feel Darunia's eyes burning into him, and he turned.

"What?" Link's voice was shaky.

"Did you bring this upon us? You were in their country, fighting a war, and when you came back, weeks later, they are here for magic." Link fully turned around and faced Darunia.

"I was diplomatic to their people. I only killed for defensive purposes. I told them the war was over. I told them this was never to ever happen again. Carenthert agreed and left the field. I should have stopped him when I had the chance. It wasn't easy to turn away from such a bloody battle. Carenhert had summoned that demon to kill his own people, to destroy all that was around him, and it took all the magic he had to do so. He wants our land, so he can do it again, but we have more magic in our lands than he has. I did not bring this upon us, I tried my hardest to prevent it. He probably has the one thing I love in this entire world, and I am going to get her back. I will make sure all of Hyrule is safe, all the people are taken care of, and make sure that we all survive. I will die trying." Darunia gave him a hard look and leaned back in his throne.

"Fine, but listen here. I will defend my people, your people, our people. In return, we want more respect. We haven't been treated well lately. One of our brothers got out of hand and barreled down an alley way in Hyrule, crushing three people to death. I can't have this in my realm or in yours. It was a careless mistake, and I don't want there to be deaths repeated by Hyrulians against my people." Link nodded.

"I understand. I swear to defend all people in this kingdom, and they will respect each other." Darunia agreed and Link felt the need to leave the room before he felt suffocated.

When Link was out of the caves, he felt a bit better. He had taken a small passage way that led to the Lost Woods. It was an easy escape from where he was originally. It was always dark, but he could hear the songs of the woods calling to him through the tunnel. When he reached it, he could smell something off. It smelled of death. He reached for his sword and maneuvered through the woods. He came upon a small Kokiri, dead. Link knelt down next to the tiny body and picked it up. It was a girl, someone Link didn't know very well.

"DON'T YOU TOUCH HER!" He turned and saw another Kokiri standing there with a sword. Link laid the body down on the soft mossy earth.

"What happened to her Mido?" Link asked as the small red headed boy ran to her.

"She was sick, and I couldn't get her the medicine she needed in time. She tried to leave the forest. She didn't want to be here." Link knelt down next to Mido, putting his hand on his back. "I don't understand. She could see things, terrible things, in her dreams." Link looked down at her small pale face.

"What things?" He asked.

"She said there was fire, death, destruction. You have to understand, a lot of us have the Sight, but we all turned it off. Years and years of practice led to us destroying the power we had over the future. She did not. She decided to see what the future had in store. She was scared, frightened. I asked her what she had seen, and she kept repeating Carenhert." Link stood up stiffly and walked past the two.

"I have to go." Mido grabbed Link's leg.

"Why? Why do you always have to leave?" Link turned and looked down at Mido, solemnly.

"I have to go Mido… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… Get all the Kokiri together and hide in the forests until I come for you. Do this after you take care of her." Link sighed and looked down at the small body again. She was so pretty, her face still pink from life she once contained. Mido looked down at her too, and then back at Link. He nodded and began the ritual. Kokiri children use a type of grass and leaf to bury their dead. The acid in the leaves break the body down and disintegrate it into the earth from once they came.

Link looked away, he saw death, finally, carried out by a person panicking. He did not like this omen. It was bad, terrible, and he felt like this was going to be an awful war.

Link began heading to Saria. He needed to update her on what he had heard. When he reached their spot, he saw here sitting on the limb of a tree. She was softly playing the ocarina. The melody was familiar to Link, it was her song. He looked up at her, and she down at him. They locked eyes, and Link couldn't help but cry. He wept, he broke down and fell to his knees. Saria jumped down and caressed her friend.

"Link, shh, it'll be alright." Saria held Link in her arms. "Tell me everything."

Link gave her a briefing on what he had learned over the past day. He told her about Malon, about Zelda, about the Carenherts. He felt it was his fault this fate was brought upon their land. He felt it was his fault Malon might be dead. He felt he had fault in the death of the Kokiri. He looked over at Saria, at her bright wise eyes, at her beautiful pale and freckled face, at her green hair and clothes, at her pure innocence.

"I don't want you to get hurt Saria. I love you, you are my sister, my friend. I can't go through this again. Carenhert is evil, sick, delusional. He has a power hungry complex that leaves death in its path. You and all the Kokiri are going to hid in the forest. I need you to use your magic to keep them out. I will find a way to defend you. I promise." Saria touched his face, sadness welled in her eyes.

"I will do as you wish my friend." With that, she disappeared. Link looked around for her, called out her name, but it was no use. She was a sage, and she left him all alone, again. He felt deserted, destroyed, but he couldn't wallow in his sadness anymore. He needed to be alert, he needed to survive, and he needed to defend. This is exactly what he needs to do.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Malon felt disgusting, abused, and used. She sat in her hot bath and scrubbed to the point of feeling raw. She looked at her dirt stained nails and dipped them in the water. The water looked red, not clear like it should. She felt terrible. She wanted to throw up, and keep throwing up until there was nothing but skin and bone left of her. She kept thinking of Link. Where was he, why wasn't he here yet? She got angry and threw her scrub brush across the room. She heard a curtain open and turned quickly. It was a maid; she had a bruised eye and scratched cheek. There was a prominent scar over her eyebrow. Malon relaxed a little and sunk back into the tub. The maid laid out some new clothes for her and turned to her. She looked Hyrulian, not Zordick. She had the long, pointed ears, blue eyes, and fair skin, but she had a different brow line. It looked more prominent, less narrow, and her skin tone was a bit olive. She began to remove the torn nightgown, and Malon turned to her.

"Why…" The maid turned to look at her and then turned away immediately.

"Why what?" Malon bit her lip, it hurt so bad. There was a small bruise forming over her already bruised chin.

"Why do you do this?" The maid sighed and sat down.

"I don't have a choice. My father sold me to your betrothed. He needed money for my brother to get out of the army. I decided I would sacrifice myself for my family." Malon sighed and turned back in her tub.

"I know the feeling. Jodien threatened to kill my family, the ones I loved, me if I didn't go with him. Now I'm forced to be his…" Malon swallowed bile. "Nevermind." She forced the tears to stay behind her eyes.

"Lady Malon, I know it's not much, but I'm so sorry. Jodien and his father are the cruelest men I have ever met. I have taken quite a few beatings for that bastard, Dorian. He would have me do things I couldn't even think about because it disgusts me. It's been five years since I've seen my family… I hope Dorian kept his promise to my family." The maid turned quickly and grabbed Malon's clothes. There were mumbles and footsteps in the bedroom area. Malon sucked in a breath and ducked under the water. She wanted to drown herself, but she wasn't ready to die yet. She could hear more mumbling above her head, and then a hand dipped into the water with her. She sat up quickly, inhaling sharply the moment she saw Jo sitting at the foot of her tub.

"Darling, you are getting the water so dirty." He came over to her and kissed her forehead. Malon flinched and moved away from him.

"I would rather you not be here." Jo faked a hurt gesture and laughed at her.

"I'd rather you not tell me what I should do. You know better than to argue with your betrothed. My dearest Malon, so naïve, so fragile, and yet so strong." Malon scooted as far away from him as she could.

"Please, go away." She whispered, feeling sore, tired, exhausted. She didn't sleep much that night. Jo came around behind her and gripped her neck with one hand. He clamped down as hard as he could, making her wince in pain.

"It pleasures me to see how easy it is to hurt you." He grinned and gripped a bit harder. Malon had enough and stood up to face him so he would let her go.

"I can't stand much more of this." Jo looked her up and down and licked his lips, just like his father had that night. Malon shivered when a cool breeze hit her. She was naked, vulnerable, but stifling angry.

"Well Malon, put on some clothes, and we can discuss things. You know, I don't like to hurt you, as much as I wish you'd let me please you." Malon sucked in again as he put his hands around her waist, moving slowly up to her breasts. Malon batted him away, which created a spark in his dark eyes. He slapped her and stepped away. She could feel blood flowing down her mouth. She stood there, solemnly.

"I hate you. I will always hate you for manipulating me, taking advantage of me, hurting me, and for hurting everyone I love." Jo rolled his eyes and pushed her into the tub. She fell, splashing water all over the place. She felt defeated, two days and she wanted to give up. She could barely see straight let alone think straight. She needed to find a way out, but there wasn't one.

"Well, Malon, get out of the tub and get to your bedroom. Put on that dress. We are to be married today. It's an important day for the Zordick people, we conquer your Kingdom." With that, Jo left her in the wash room alone, cold, and terrified. She looked over at the beautiful gown that was lying across a bench. She got up from her murky bathwater and stood in front of the long mirror. She was covered in bruises all over her body, her face swollen and bruised, her lip cut and bleeding, her eyes bloodshot and red. This wedding, this horrible wedding, was supposed to be with Link. It was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. She was supposed to look radiant, excited, beautiful, not beaten and bruised, not torn to pieces. She sat down in front of the mirror, gripping her knees to her chest. She heard the curtain open again. This time she didn't turn around. She stopped caring.

"Lady Malon, it's time to fit you in your dress." Malon turned and looked at the maid. She gave her a kind smile and stood up.

"I wish we could run away." Malon sighed and the maid began dressing her.

"Lady Malon, we shouldn't talk about such things with the master so close…" Malon could see the fear in her face as she spoke.

"I understand." Malon could hear Jo calling for the maid. She scurried off, like a meek child in trouble with her parent. She could hear Jo's voice raise in disapproval of something followed by a large slapping noise. Malon turned quickly, gripping to the white garment. She pushed aside the curtain and dropped her dress, kneeling at the young woman's side.

"You keep hurting people like this, Jodien, you'll kill them." She looked up at him, hatred in her eyes that could have burned a village down.

"Get your dress on and get out here or you will be like her during our wedding." Malon stood up and threw the dress at him.

"I will never marry a worthless man like you. I'd rather die." Jo stormed towards Malon, pressing his forearm against her throat and pinning her to the wall.

"Promise?" Malon spit in his face and he punched her across the face, repeatedly kicking her naked body over and over again. She couldn't feel anything by the time he was done. She was outside, covered in mud, naked and alone. He had dragged her outside, 'So you can live with the swine." He had said. She couldn't believe she hadn't passed out from the pain yet.

"What is Lady Malon doing outside, naked, in the mud Jodien?!" It was his father. Malon began to feel cold and slimy inside. She hated these men.

"She is going to learn to be my woman, father." Jo replied, stepping towards them. She could see his boots in the mud, shinning silver and wet.

"We are storming Hyrule, today, the troops are all coming. It's going to be an ambush. You are bringing this weakling with us. Hurry and marry her, get it over with. I don't care if she's able to walk, sit, talk, or move, you are going to hurry this process up. We need an heir." Dorian moved away from them and walked back to his camp. Jodien stared down at Malon, grinning.

"Did you hear that, Lady Malon? You're mine forever now. We are to be married." Malon made a deep growling noise, but couldn't form a scream in protest. She was being drug back inside the tent and dunked into the bath. She could feel her body being scrubbed over and over again, then being lifted out of the tub. A soft garment was wrapped around her body, and then she was lifted into Jo's arms and taken outside. There were guards everywhere, a mage was standing at the far end of the camp. She could barely make out the faces of the grinning guards as she was taken to the mage.

"Let's get this over with…" Growled Dorian. Malon moaned again, but Jo gripped her side making her almost pass out from the pain.

"The darkness calls to all those who wait, with this joint union we shall create the Heir of Darkness. This is what we were waiting for, from the depths of the earth, from the destruction of the imperial race, bestow these two in union." The mage stabbed his staff into the ground. Malon moaned again as the light surrounded her. She felt like she was on fire. She could see everyone around her glowing in a deep red. She felt a change in her, she felt something going wrong. She let out a loud scream, so loud it even hurt her ears. She soon fainted in Jodien's arms. All was dark, black, but soon a blood red began leaking into her subconscious. She could see death, destruction, fire and pain. She felt all this, and then something euphoric.

When she came to, she was doused in black clothing. It was silk like in texture, but there was something powerful about it. She looked down at herself, and she noticed all the black she wore was seared to her skin. She panicked at first, but felt the power of what she wore. It felt good.

Jodien was lying beside her. He looked at her and grinned. "How do you like being a Carenhert, my love?" He twirled his finger in her hair.

"I am confused. What happened?" Malon sat up from the bed and looked down.

"You are a Carenhert, the queen of darkness, and the woman who will birth my heir. The Heir of Darkness. I told you, you will be mine. Don't bother fighting what you are, you are forever mine, forever a Carenhert, forever destined to darkness." Malon could feel bile brewing in her throat, but did not reply. She looked at him, despite her immense hatred toward him, she now felt a serious admiration for him.

"You, you tricked me, you poisoned me. I am not going to follow through. I will not kill all the ones I love. I don't want to." Malon stood up and backed away from him.

"Malon, dear, it's alright. The war already started, five days ago. You are in our time frame, it goes much slower here." Malon panicked and backed away. She could feel a sharp pain all over her body.

"What did you do to me? I should be broken, on the floor, not moving like I was a day ago." Jodien smiled.

"Yes, but we repaired you, fixed you. You are stronger now, better than you were before."

"I loved the way I was before!" She snapped, and an overwhelming surge of pain overcame her. She fell to her knees. "Make it stop." She moaned.

"Oh, only you can make the pain stop. Accept who you are now, or the process will be much more painful than it has to." He stood over her and patted her head. "It's ok though, soon enough you will forget who you are, forget anything good in this world, and you won't mind what you've become." She looked up, her face pale, her mind engulfed in searing pain.

"You mean I have no choice?" She began to weep.

"Ugh, stop being so fucking pathetic." He scoffed and pushed her. She fell on her back. "I still wonder what it is I see in you, and I think it's the utter goodness of you. The serious gravity of how good you are. The complete opposite of everything the Carenhert clan represents. Once father has obtained Hyrule's magic supply, we will call upon Tragrak once again. He is somewhat a legend to our people. Link ruined that for us, he destroyed the essence, and we didn't have anymore magic left to use. Now, with Hyrule's magic, we will be able to summon upon his help again. We will overthrow this kingdom, the next, and the next. We will be stronger than we ever had been before. You will be the woman by my side during it all. You will be laughing as you watch everyone you love die. You will be happy with me. You will bear my child, and create a family of dark descendants that my mother couldn't produce. She was worthless. Such a dumb woman, but you, I trained you in the ways of literature, literacy, and math. You are intelligent in the ways of this kingdom. You will help bring its downfall." Malon stared at him as he laughed. "You, my dear, are the answer to all of our problems." With that, he left her in the room. She could feel the pain subsiding and looked down at her arm again. She couldn't believe she had no choice, she was going to turn into some sort of evil thing that will kill all she ever loved. She would rather die. She could feel the pain again, searing through her skin. She screamed, but heard nothing.

Link had been fighting, determined to win this war. It had started several weeks ago, and was unable to gain control of the situation. The Great Faerie was fighting alongside all elements of Hyrule. The sages were defending the castle the best they could. Zelda and her father were pinned up inside while Link took care of the armed forces.

"We need to fall back, sir." Said one of the soldiers. Link turned and sighed.

"I know, I know. I just don't understand how they had gained control of so much land already. We are losing this battle." Link rubbed his head. He felt weak.

"We aren't losing yet." It was a familiar voice. Link looked up and saw Princess Zelda standing in his tent. She relieved the soldier of his post.

"You are supposed to be in the castle, Zelda." Link groaned. He hated it when she showed up unexpected. She was a best friend, family, and she was the ruler of this kingdom.

"I know where I'm supposed to be, Link. I'm here now, though, and I will continue to stay here. I have new information about our magic reserves. We have a new hiding place for them. Father created an ingenious idea on how to conceal them, make it useless for the Carenhert clan to remove any magic. The moment they try to, the magic will deactivate itself, causing the magic to become useless." Link nodded and looked at her.

"Do it, I don't care, I'm trying to keep your people safe." Link was a short fuse. He hadn't heard a word from Malon or Jojo. It was difficult to focus on all these hardships, wondering if Malon was alive, wondering what was happening to her. Zelda walked over to him, putting a small and delicate hand on his shoulder.

"Link, you have to understand. If our magic becomes depleted, and Tragrak comes back, we are all in serious danger. I want to protect my people, my land, and our magic. I am trying very hard to do all three. I feel that protecting our magic will protect our people more than you know." Link moved away from her and faced his bunk. "I know you are doing what you can. I'm just torn apart, and I can't find a way to be mended." Link slouched. "It's hard enough fighting a battle that should have been won months ago, but I brought it here. This is my fault. I should have killed Dorian when I had the chance." Zelda approached Link and put an hand on his shoulder.

"Link, you could have never known. We defeated their highest armed forces, and Tragrak. WE worked towards a treaty, which they failed to keep, not you. It's their fault they are here, not ours." Link nodded reluctantly and faced her. He looked at those sparkling blue eyes and wondered how she could stay so optimistic. Last time Link was on the battle field the mages had created a weapon using pure energy from the underworld which bombed half his forces. It put them all under a type of coma; he couldn't wake any of them. He had to watch them, then, get dragged away. Link won that fight, but it was a close call. He lost quite a few good men.

Link took Zelda outside of his tent to look at the horizon. In the distance, Link could see smoke coming from the woods. He knew that was the Kokiri Forest. The young Kokiri didn't lie, she was right, fire and death. Link was grateful that he left them all a warning. Unfortunately he didn't have time to get to Lake Hylia, but once some of the refugees took places there they Hylians knew immediately. Word of mouth got around quickly, even if there were hours in between places.

Epona had been injured in a past battle was mending. She had a place behind Link's tent. Link walked over to it, Zelda trailing behind. He sat next to her, petting her lightly. Zelda sighed and kneeled down next to Link.

"You haven't heard word from Malon yet, have you?" Link shook his head no. "I'm sorry. Maybe I'll come by tomorrow. I have to get back to the castle. Father needs me." Link nodded and Zelda stood up. "Link, farewell, and fight well." Link looked up at her and smiled slightly.

"I will, for our kingdom, and for our lives." Zelda nodded in acknowledgment and walked to her steed. It was a large Clydesdale dressed in armor and Hyrulian colors. She took off towards the castle as fast as she could. She had no guards with her, and she needed to get back before another attack began.

Link got up from his position and looked over towards the battle field. He knew that it would just hurt him even more. Everyone was battle ready. They had mage, the Great Faerie and her followers, they had many advantages, but sometimes the darkness seemed to outweigh the light. Link looked past the battlefield, and could see something shimmering in the distance. It was a portal that lead from their country to theirs. It was a very dark magic, and Link's forces had no way to destroy it. It would have taken the Carenherts years to travel to Zordick from Hyrule without knowing the correct pathways. Link was able to create a portal to their kingdom, but it was difficult because the portals were weak and didn't last very long. Link was able to travel back to Hyrule without a portal in a few months, and this was without stopping, without distraction, and with dangerous short cuts.

Link knew Malon was somewhere beyond that portal. She was waiting for him, looking for him, missing him. Was she ok? Was she alive? Was she still searching the stars for an answer to save her? Link wanted to jump in that portal so bad, storm in there and save her. Every chance he had to get through the portal there was an energy like force field that he couldn't get through. He had seen what he considered glimpses of someone who looked like Malon, someone with fire red hair, running in the back ground. He knew that Jojo had taken her. Someone had seen her on his horse riding off to the portal. Link was made aware of his treachery and swore to end his life the moment he saw him.

Link imagined seeing her, dead, cold, on the ground. She was grasping the earth, blood covering her face. He could see her eyes, pale green, not bright like they had been. He could see her lips turning blue. He could see the way she had stared at the sky, looking for an answer that wasn't there. Then he would invision her turning her head to the side, whispering to him, "Why didn't you do something? Why am I dead? I blame you." Link snapped out of it. The images were too real. He shook his head and looked away, turning to his tent. He needed to sleep, to get these thoughts away.

As he laid down, he closed his eyes. He could see nothing, hear nothing, and it was just what he needed. He didn't need anything at that moment but peace and quiet. When he drifted, he saw a bright light, a swirl of smoke appeared in the center. He could see fire following in a funnel. It was wrapping around him, he could feel his body collapsing under intense pressure. There were eyes staring at him, glowing red, when he looked up it was Malon's face staring at him above all the smoke.

"Malon? Malon, my love!" Link reached up for her, but the fire and smoke seared his arm. He wretched back and screamed. Blisters formed on his arm and hand.

"Dear Link, you didn't save me. You couldn't, you were weak and I am now strong. I used to tremble at the sight of monsters, but now I am one. Jodein has showed me the way. I will now rule over the kingdoms. Those that are weak and defenseless, those that need my guidance I will bring the darkness to them, I will bring the world to their knees…" Link stared up at her beautiful face, covered in black smoke and fire. She laughed a metallic and sinister laugh. Link fell to the ground; the pressure building up around him was crushing the life out of him.

"Malon, for what it's worth, I love you…" Malon looked down upon him, and for a moment he could see a glimmer of green shinning past the red in her eyes.

"Get out of my sight.." Malon screamed and forced Link to tumble into darkness.

Link woke up, almost falling off of his bed. He felt numb and sick. He ran outside and threw up. Two guards were standing outside of his tent, looking at him, offering a hand to help him to stand. Link batted them away and lurched foreward. He threw up a couple more times and then stood up straight, facing the battle field. How did he not hear what he saw? There was fire and smoke all over the field. Link looked at his guards, they were just standing there motionless.

"Are you blind?! There is a battle going on and you didn't wake me?! What is wrong with you?!" Link yelled. He ran in his tent, putting on his armor and weapons and headed outside. "I should have you both sent to death for being completely incompetent." Link murmured as he pushed past them. He heard a clink of metal behind him, when he turned he was pursued. He flipped backward out of the way of their staffs and maneuvered behind them. He struck each one with his sword precisely against the back. The opponents fell instantly to their knees and eventually fell face forward to the ground. Link enhaled for a long time, getting the scent in the air. He couldn't smell the grass, the earth, the water, only burning flesh, death, blood, and metal. Link ran towards the battle yard. He was on a descend towards what his people called the Pit, and he looked onward. The sight before him almost made him drop to his knees. There were demons everywhere. All of them with different colors, shapes, sizes, and weapons. The Carenhert clan were on the far side of the hill. Link was enraged, how could this have happened? _How did I not sense this?_ Link ran forward towards his people. There were only a handful left, but Link could take down an entire army if he needed to.

Link slashed his way to his friends, he could see them clearly now. They were covered in black sticky blood. They smelled of death and rot. Link almost threw up again, but kept his composure. The demons were all over, ripping people to tiny bits. Blood and guts were flung all over the battle field. Link looked to his friends; they were tired, lacking their reflexes given to their pain. Link flung himself in front of the line, slashing and tearing his way past the demons. He was furious, and when he was in a mood such as this, there was no stopping him. He would kill everything in his path, anything trying to stop him.

A large demon shaped like a walking alligator ran up to him. It was screeching as loud as a banshee, Link could hear it before it was visible. He used his basic maneuvering and flipped away from it, avoiding an initial attack. Link charged forward and slashed his sword as hard as possible. It cut through the upper part of the demon, its body splitting in half. Black steaming blood sprayed up and singed Link's face, but he didn't care. Pain was of no obstacle to him in battle, only his drive and love for his people. Link kept killing and slaying. Beast after beast fell in front of him.

His handful of friends fighting by his side was Hyrulians and Hylians. Only about 20 or so remained. The greater warriors in the land. Link was ranked top of the Royal Guard, but these men and women were a close second. They looked up to him for support when battle was tiresome. Once Link was on the field, the battle really began. The other soldiers were either wounded or dead on the battle field. Link could see the Great Faerie extending all of her magic to destroy whatever attacked her area.

The night was long, and right before sunlight, he could see the animals were retreating. Link stopped fighting, letting his body act as a weight to sink him to his knees. A Zoran came to Link, placing a cold hand on his shoulder. "You fought nobly, Link." He touched the hand and looked up.

"I told you not to come here and to protect your people." Link hissed. It was Princess Ruto. She backed away and crossed her arms.

"When have you known me to follow orders Link? Go home, rest, the demons won't be back until tonight." Link stood.

"You as well, and don't come back." Ruto grinned, showing her sharp teeth.

"Right, right Link, Hero of Time. You can just send me a letter later. I probably won't get it." Link grimaced as he noticed his arm had a huge gash in it.

"Just, be safe." He hugged his friend and gripped his arm. He walked slowly back to camp. He ignored the bodies, there were so many. When he reached his tent, which had been primarily destroyed, he walked to Epona. She was mended enough to ride to the castle.

It took a few hours, but Link finally made it to the castle gates. He fell off Epona, falling to the soft green grass. He kept his eyes open just long enough to see Zelda's personal guards run to his aid.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Link awoke in a bed of silk. His head was resting on a soft pillow. He felt his arm, it was bandaged and dressed. He looked under the sheets, he was naked. He sighed and let his body relax. He felt heavy, too heavy like he was going to fall through the fragile bed any second. He was waiting for it, waiting to hear the door open slowly, watch a nurse poke her head in and smile at him. No door opened, nothing made a noise, no smiling face, no affectionate embrace. Link felt slightly disappointed, but knew that no matter what he would feel alone. Even if a person was sitting at the foot of his bed, smiling at him, trying to provoke a response, he would have felt more alone than being in isolation.

He looked around the room, it was plain, stone walls, windows, decorative rugs, tapestries of the royal seal hung on different sides of the room, and a small stand with a basin of water. Link decided it was time to get up and walked to the water. He looked into the silver bowl, seeing his reflection staring back at him. He did not like the man he saw staring at him. He hated that man. It was the face of a coward, a face of eternal damnation. He wanted to splash the water away, making his face look disfigured and destroyed like it should be, but he stared his enemy in the face. He had done this more than once, defeated an enemy, but he was his worst. He sighed and scooped the water with his palms. He drank in the cool liquid, letting some of the droplets roll down his neck and chin. He felt cold. He looked and saw the window was open, a cool breeze rolling through. It was almost night time. _Another night of hell_ he thought. He saw his clothes, cleaned and mended, on the small chair next to the foot of his bed. He quickly dressed, being naked made him feel vulnerable.

He sat on his bed, listening for footsteps, but there were none. He bit his thumb, something he did when he was nervous. He stood up, putting on the rest of his gear and weapons. He ventured outside his small chamber, looking up and down the hallway. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. There were normally guards posted on either end of the halls, one for each stairwell and one on every other door. Link guarded himself with his sword, it shined in his face. He looked at it, saw his eyes, he shook his head and looked away. It was time to focus.

He slowly walked down the corridor, looking in each door way for something to come out and attack him. When he reached the end of the hall, he could hear something in the stairwell. It was slithering towards him. Link held his sword up in a sense of attack. When the noise came closer, he could see the shadow flickering against the stone walls. The torches always gave off eerie shadows.

The outline of the creature looked like a large serpent. Link anticipated something to this nature. He had come across a few of these during the Carenhert's war. He used magic to create an iridescent glow on the blade of his sword. When the serpent reached the mouth of the doorway, Link struck down with a hard blow. The serpent's head was severed. Link was covered in black blood again. He sighed and wiped his face off with the sleeve of his tunic. He proceeded downstairs, slaying a few more beasts that resembled the dark green serpent. Link reached the lower level chambers. These would have a bustling of maids and butlers around, tiding up the guest rooms for the visiting guests, which was a regular in the kingdom. Link kept his guard up, passing each room with stealth. When he reached the last room, he could hear voices.

"Let me go, you despicable piece of Mongol trash!" It was Zelda. Link's heart skipped a beat. She was alive, for now.

"Awe, Princess, I love it when a lady yells at me, especially calling me a Mongol. Those poor, pathetic, mud sucking people that live in the swamps. We killed them all before coming here." He could hear Zelda suck in her breath.

"You are all monsters." He could hear the Carenhert sigh and a few steps to follow. There was a loud smacking sound and the sound of a chair hitting the floor. Zelda moaned, and he could hear the chair being scraped and stood up.

"I know…" Link could hear the footsteps coming toward the mouth of the door. Link backed away, quickly, into an empty room. He kept backing up, straight to a small window. He felt a cool breeze on his neck and felt the hairs on his neck stiffen. He gripped the hilt of his sword until he could feel his hand go numb. He was barely breathing before the shadow of a large man passed the door. He heard the man call for two guards to come keep the princess "company" before completely leaving. The two men chuckled as they stood outside the door of the chamber. He could hear them breathing, their laughter flooded with hatred, their tender remarks to "her delicateness" and "he did say to keep her company." Link had enough of this trouble. He stepped out of the bedchamber. He was immediately noticed and pursued. He kept up a decent fight, both men armed to the smallest dagger in their boots. Link fought, receiving quite a few cuts along his arms and torso. The bandaged wound was beginning to stain red. Link decided it was time to use more magic and drew energy from the two men. The men buckled as light surrounded them. Link knelt down on one knee, soaking in the healing energy. His cuts began to diffuse into his skin, his muscles seemed to relax, and his migraine was gone. When he finished, he looked down at the two guards. They were shriveled and dead.

He could hear muffled cries in the next room. Link ran to them at once. Zelda was bruised and beaten. She looked weak, but resilient. He ungagged Zelda, the corners of her mouth were raw and bleeding.

"Ugh, thank the Gods you're here. I thought they would have found you. It's probably some sort of trap. Ugh, be careful, I think I've shattered a rib." Link stopped untying her as quickly as before, and took a more gentle approach.

"How did they get in here? What happened to my people, the warriors, our Hyrulians?" Zelda shook her head slowly. Her yellow tangles were matted with blood. Link noticed she had a minor head injury.

"We lost many of them, the others have transferred to our other mirror world. You remember your quest for the Major's Mask, don't you?" Link shuddered. "I thought you would. Well, they transferred to Clock Town temporarily. I had spoken with the people there. Anju is taking care of everyone." Link thought of Anju. He used to think of her often, she reminded him of Malon. Link sighed and finished releasing the princess. She stood up, extremely sore.

"I wish I knew you needed to be mended. I would have done my best to heal you, not myself." Link sighed.

"It's fine, we need to find a faerie fountain." Link helped Zelda walk down to the steps that entered the courtyard. There were typically a few faeries that flew around in the area. Link was able to evade a couple guards. He placed Zelda behind a maze wall and caught a small faerie. He brought it to her and it immediately flew around her, swarming her with light, giving her a new glow. Link sighed and sat next to her. He felt tired and weakened.

"Are you alright?" Link shook his head.

"Not exactly. The love of my life is somewhere with the enemy; it's been weeks. Our people are in hiding. Hyrule has been overrun by Carenhert clan members, and I'm pretty sure some giant evil thing will be coming up to finish the job." Zelda sighed and put a hand on his leg. Hel looked over at her, her wisdom shined like the sun.

"They haven't won yet."

It had been another week in their time frame. It was probably weeks that had gone by in Hyrule. Malon wasn't strong at math, but decided an estimate would suffice. Malon was trying to get accustomed to her new found evil outsides. Her skin stopped burning as she embraced her new fate. Her new husband was typically on the battle field, and she was left in the tent, alone. She looked in the mirror often, her eyes beginning to change to a deep blood red.

"Malon?" It was Jodein. Malon turned and looked at him. In her head, she could hear the faint screams of who she used to be, but now it was nothing but an annoyance.

"Darling." Malon went to embrace him. Her dark garments fluttered around him like smoke. He smiled, delicately, which was unusual for his nasty demeanor.

"What are you being so pleasant about?" Malon asked, encouraging a scowl on his face.

"We have a problem." She pulled away from him and made a face. He backed away slowly, he knew how terrible her temper had become. He almost regretted creating such a beautiful monster.

"What…" She seethed at him.

"Link and Zelda are still alive. He killed two of my men. We need to hurry, we need to consummate our marriage. The demon you will create will start a whole new world for us, and years to come even more evil will infect the kindness of these lands. Malon sighed. She pressed her index finger against her garment, it unzipped in the front. It slowly faded across her skin, turning it milky white like it had been before. There were no more bruises, no more cuts, no more scrapes. She was just as perfect as before. Her fingernails were still long, sharp and black. Her eyes were bright red now, and her hair was curled. Jodein licked his lips.

"Well, are we to do this or not?" Jodein nodded eagerly and tied off the curtains to the tent door.

"This is the first time you've willingly let me touch you. I'm very excited about consensual copulation. It took so long for this moment, at least, it seemed like a long time." Malon rolled her eyes and sat on the bed.

"Hurry up." Her voice sounded slightly metallic. Jodein smiled and crawled on top of her eagerly. They began slowly. Jodein wanted to enjoy every moment, but Malon had other plans. She traced her long fingernails over his back, making small designs that slowly burned into his skin. He recoiled from her, but she had him pinned. Her strength was almost frightening. Jodein decided it was time to hurry up. He didn't want to be completely scarred before the war was over due to his wife's power. The moment he did finish, Malon smiled. Her teeth were white and pearly, almost sharpened at the tips. She was ghastly beautiful. Jodein sighed and relaxed as he moved away from her, but she still had a grip on him.

"Darling, it's over, let go." He whined as she scratched his back. Her smile widened and she flipped him under her. He almost got aroused again, but something was seriously wrong.

"You were so eager to have this body, but you weren't eager to have me. You wanted me until I freely gave myself to you. Now I suspect you'll seek out the thrill of a woman who loathes your touch like I once did. That poor, weak, meek, Malon. She's no longer here, and that scares you, doesn't it?" Jo didn't move or make a sound. She traced her long finger nails down his throat. With a swift movement she cut straight down. She felt the warmth of his blood against her chest as it poured freely all over. She laughed and kissed him lightly on the mouth. "That meek little Malon died, along with you." She dismounted Jodein and traced her fingers back up over her torso. The dark smoke wrapped around her body creating her dark garments.

When she emerged from the room Dorian was waiting for her outside. "Did you create the child that will bring the downfall to this dumb race of Hyrulians?" She pushed past his father. He grabbed her arm. "Answer me, I created you, you tell me now." Malon smiled lightly and ripped her arm away from him.

"You may have made me, but I rule your future. Back off. If you want your answer, ask your son." With that she left and went through the portal at the end of the camp. She could hear the father crying, and it made her smile. "Weak, insignificant life." She sighed as she turned. The smoke around her felt like an old friend. She looked through the portal at a grown man, on his knees, holding his dead son, and weeping. She spit towards the portal. "Life is weak." She said and walked back towards the battle field.

Link was on the hill top where he used to go with Malon on picnics. He remembered it fondly, but the view was different. Smoke was rising from multiple villages in the area. Hyrule castle looked deserted, dark, and desolate. The Kokiri Village and Kakariko Village were both torn apart, and from what he could tell there were a number of casualties. Link had to remind himself that this wasn't his fault. He looked to the distance where the Carenhert's portal was. From it he could see something pale and ghastly, something with dark red hair dressed in black smoke. Link had to catch himself from fainting, it was Malon. He was never weak in this sense, but he had never seen anyone so transformed in his life. Zelda had to transform herself into darkness before, but never to this extent.

He felt a light grip on his arm. "Link, we need to go." Link turned, tears stinging his cheeks leaving flesh colored streaks through the dirt on his face.

"It's Malon. I can't do this right now. I can't go with you. I need to save her." Zelda's grip tightened.

"She is under their magic. Believe me, you don't want to be near her right now." Link looked into her eyes and Zelda felt his pain.

"She's right there, she's coming over here, please leave me with her. Just for a moment. I promise I will destroy her if I have to." Zelda sighed and stepped away.

"I will be right here. I will not leave your side, but I am going to give you what you need." Zelda snapped her fingers and disappeared. Her magic was tricky, but it was through experience that she had accomplished so much power.

Link waited in anticipation as he watched her dark form walk closer and closer to him. He could see her curved frame wrapped in black. She looked elegant but dangerous. Her hair was curled down her back. Her eyes glowed red and fierce. When she finally reached him, he almost fell to his knees. This was not his Malon anymore.

"What did they do to you?" Link whispered as he touched a ringlet. Malon sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Don't act like you actually care. I'm no longer that Malon you abandoned. I know it's been weeks here, but it's only been a week there." She pointed a long finger towards the Carenhert's portal.

"I do care, Malon." Link sighed and let the tears fall down his face. "I couldn't get to you, I had no clue where you were. You didn't listen to my advice, did you?" Malon laughed, it was metallic and not her voice.

"You insignificant man. Don't you see, Malon is a different woman now. I've been sculpted into a new, beautiful, woman. I'm more powerful than those pathetic Carenhert. I'm sure Dorian is putting a bounty on me since I killed his only son. You remember Jojo, don't you? You can thank him for the wonderful job they did to this body and mind." Link set his jaw. He was beginning to fill with rage. "The reason I'm here, Link dear, is because Jodein did not possess the power to give me an heir. I need a son, or daughter, to rein over the lands after I have vanquished all life from it. You, alone, are the only one that can do this for me." Malon smirked and lightly touched Link's chest. She could hear the true Malon in the back of her mind screaming Link's name, screaming for him not to do it. "She's powerful, that other Malon. She gives me a headache when she screams like that." Link pushed her away from him, moving past her as fast as he could.

"Get away from me, demon. You are not the woman I love, you are a mistake, a freak of nature they created in her image. I bet if you didn't have that body, you would be the ugliest creature on the planet. You sicken me." Malon lashed out at him and cut his face wide open. He sucked in air and moaned as he hit the ground. He looked up at her, and with quick reflexes rolled to the left as she threw a fire ball towards him.

"You insignificant man; I only need you because you contain a power that no other being can give me except the goddesses themselves. Unfortunately, they would never cooperate with me, so you will have to do." Zelda reappeared next to Malon, her sword drawn, but before Link could tell her no she stabbed Malon through the chest and turned the blade. Link could hear a crunching noise, her rib cage breaking under the strain of elven steel. Link felt himself fall down to his knees. He watched her face twist up in a fit of rage. Malon grabbed the end of the sword that was protruding through her chest and pushed it back towards the entrance of the wound. Zelda's eyes widened when the sword fell down, splashing dark blood on the ground. Malon took a finger and touched the blood pooling around her chest. She examined the blood and licked it. "It's so sweet…" She growled. She turned and looked at Zelda. "You bitch, don't you know pure evil is quite hard to kill." Zelda took a step back. Link got up immediately and buried a sword in the woman's side. She let out a scream and turned to Link.

"Zelda, go! Get out of here, now!" Link yelled as Malon pursued him. Link ran backwards, keeping his eyes on Malon, hoping Zelda would be out of sight.

"You foolish boy, I'm going to make this really awful for you." Malon gripped the handle of the sword and ripped the blade out of her. She growled and put a hand on her bleeding side. Slowly Link could see the smoke entering the wound and healing the skin. Link was astonished.

"What in the goddess are you?" He whispered as she rushed to him.

"I'm your worst nightmare." With that she swiped at his face and he was out cold.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Zelda walked, alone, into the Cave mouth of Lake Hylia. It was the only place she ever enjoyed going to. She sat beneath a large tree facing the water. There were no monsters, no animals, no birds chirping or children playing. She felt alone, abandoned, and she had no idea what to do now. She had used all of her powers to try and protect what people she had left. She had never lost a battle, and her allied forces were too weak to help.

Zelda took her shoes off and wiggled her toes in the grass. She was wearing her battle gear still stained with Malon's blood. All the could think about what how to kill her. Was it because she was a demon now, or did she always hate her? Zelda closed her mind to those jealous thoughts and peered over the water. The wind was blowing the clouds towards her. It was cloudy but sunny. The fields were emerald green, the water crystal clear, and fish were still swimming about. Nothing seemed to have changed here except there was no one in the land. She turned and looked towards the cave mouth, someone was approaching. The someone turned into multiple, and before she knew it an entire caravan of Carenhert clan members were at her feet. They were all men, the women were always tending to them. It was the Carenhert way that women would and never will be respected as members of their civilization.

Zelda stood, pulling her shoes back on her feet. She was a skilled fighter, just as good as Link, but she was better with her magic. She rubbed her hands together ready to strike, but they were already surrounding her. She decided to build up the magic she had stored and use it to her advantage. She let out a huge surge of heated air which singed many of the men around her. They all fell quickly, on fire. Zelda could smell their burning flesh as she dashed quickly towards the water. She leaped in, diving down to the depths were the Zora's Domain opening was. She quickly swam, through until she reached the beautifully lit pool of water in a large cave area.

She climbed out, shivering slightly at the natural coolness of the cave. She ran up to the highest point of the domain, looking out at the water, hiding in the shadows. She could see bubbles forming where she exited. There were a few black masses emerging from the water. She held her breath as a few of the soldiers climbed out of the water. Her magic was low, and she was bogged down with water. She sat in the small stream that led to the great waterfall where she used to do diving competitions as a little girl. She was fond of these memories, they were happy, subtle, relaxing. She decided if she was about to fight, she better do it with a clear mind. She drank some of the cool water which helped her strength. The water was touched by magical hands when the pools were first created. Zelda could feel her body lightening up, she wasn't tired, and she felt good.

She prepared herself with her smaller daggers. She was better in combat if it was close. She could hear their footsteps, louder and louder as they ascended the curved pathways. Zelda hid in the shadows, waiting for them to approach her. When they came into view she attacked immediately. The first man went down easily enough, she stabbed him in the eye. The next man came around behind her, but he was a larger man and Zelda was faster. She turned and sliced his throat. The third man was slim, and fast. She had more difficulty with him. She would turned one way and he followed with precision. She was beginning to become frustrated. He was fast, agile, limber, and she couldn't find a weakness anywhere. She had already obtained quite a few slaps and a punch. Her lower lip was bleeding, her eye was beginning to swell, and she could feel her body getting weaker. _He must be using some sort of weapon, jewelry, something that is weakening me_ Zelda thought as she took another punch to the face. That's when she saw it, a ring, shining with silver and amethyst. It was a cursed ring, one that would damage the strongest of people. She had seen that ring a long time ago, and was surprised to see it now. It was one of her own people.

"Who are you?" Zelda asked after she had been kicked down to her knees.

"I can't tell you that, your highness." She looked up and gazed at those fierce brown eyes that peaked up from the face wraps the Carenhert clan typically wore. He pulled down on the wrap a little, exposing a long nose. She sighed; she couldn't know who it was. How could she, no one in Hyrule would have defended the Carenhert clan, not after what they had done. The mages were already in hiding and did not care about Hyrule, so it could have been a mage, but she couldn't pinpoint who. He had darker skin, dark brown eyes, and grace she had only known in ball room dancers. She shook her head in defeat, she knew she was too weak, faint, exhausted and depressed.

The man grabbed Zelda by the arm and drug her down the walkway to the entrance that is only accessible to Royal members of the Zora family. Zelda could feel her clothing rip as she was being drug down into the main chamber where the King of the Zora would have typically sat. She was thrown into the pool of water where the largest part of Lake Hylia ran into. She laid there, weak and motionless. She listened to the man's footsteps as he came closer and closer. He placed a foot on her head, she could smell ash and water on the ottom of his boot. She immediately grasped his foot, but she was too weak to pry it away from her face. She could feel her face submerge beneath the water. She could feel the ridges of his boot marking her face. She let out a small cry as she was forced to hold her head underwater. She felt the water running into her mouth, through her nose, down her throat. She didn't have her water jewels on to help her breathe the water's atmosphere. She began drowning, and she knew this was probably her last day as a princess, as a Hyrulian, and as a person. She decided it was time to fight back, but there wasn't much time to be had.

In a quickened movement, a hand darted into the water and grabbed her hair, pulling her back up. She let out a gasp, coughing the water out of her lungs and nose. She looked up nervously, it was the same man, dressed in black. His dark eyes staring her down, and she could see one small red ringlette of hair falling down the side of his masked face. Zelda's eyes widened, _it can't be…_

"Oh, my dear princess, it can be. Last time we met, you sent me to a prison inside of myself in the underworld of darkness. It was nice of the Carenhert clan to release me from myself." Ganondorf chuckled and moved his face piece down. Zelda stared in astonishment, he looked almost normal. The green hue from his skin had subsided and returned to the dark Gerudo color of his people. His hair was still exceptionally red, and his nose still long and prominent. Zelda almost thought he looked attractive because of his new appearance, but that was disgusting. She could feel the bile rising up in her throat.

"Well, I'm glad you found someone who actually wants you." Zelda croaked as she took in large breaths of air.

"You can be a spiteful little bitch when you want to be, Zelda. Fortunately for me, I can do whatever I want at the moment. You are completely powerless. Especially here." Zelda looked at him menacingly.

"What do you mean?" Ganondorf sighed and pulled her to her feet.

"We have drained most of the magic from Hyrule into ourselves. We found your little reservoir. You are very clever hiding it beneath the castle in plain sight. It took me weeks to find it, but I did, and because of that I was able to be freed from my dark destiny." Zelda sighed, she felt defeated, but they hadn't found the whole reservoir. The rest was hidden inside of Jabu Jabu's belly. She felt happy by this, but if they find it, Hyrule will be defenseless.

"Well… I'm glad they are actually good to their word for you." Zelda's words seeped with poison. Ganondorf didn't reply and grabbed her by the arm.

"I'm glad too, because I can claim you as my bride after we find the rest of the loot. It's funny, the person I hate is the most attractive in all of Hyrule. I'm pretty sure Naburoo will be extremely mad when she finds out I won't marry her. It's not suitable, she's already the Queen of Theives, she took my crown, my chair, and thinks I should be her husband. She would probably make me do the housework and cook too." Zelda trudged behind him as he continued to talk. He complained so much, she almost wished she had drowned.

"In any case, I will never in a million years marry you. You are the worst, most disgusting man I have ever me. I want to vomit at the very thought of you." Ganondorf turned around to her angrily and back handed her across the face.

"You will marry me, and I will force it like they did to Malon and that Jodein character. She's more powerful than the entire army. They can't even keep her under control anymore. Except, when we marry, it will render you powerless against me, and you can only just sit there and watch while we wed. It will make me the happiest man in Hyrule, to make you my queen." Zelda held her face and felt a tear sting one of the scratches along her face. She was appalled to think that he really wanted to marry her. Why would he even want to? Would this help her people?

They reached the mouth of Zora's Fountain and walked outside. The sky was golden and red, the color of the afternoon sun. Zelda felt glad to feel the warmth of the sun, but that immediately disappeared when Ganondorf led her down into the water. He had a horse waiting for him. It was large, black, and covered in armor. Zelda found it beautiful, but it probably had the same demeanor of its owner. Ganondorf bound her hands and threw her over the back of the saddle. He mounted after her and they rode off towards the Carenhert portal.

Link woke up with a start. He was in a ed made of wool and lamb skin. It scratched his skin something awful. He stood up quickly and noticed he was naked. Her growled in anger and searched for clothes. It was useless, there were no clothes, no armor, no weapons; it was all gone. He looked in the mirror, his face looked like it had gotten in a fight with a giant cat. He held it, realizing how much pain he was in. It must have been some sort of poison damage caused by Malon's nails. The thought of Malon made him sit down.

_My Malon has turned into a demon. She's a creature of darkness now. This will be my hardest quest yet. I will save her…_ Link thought as he wrung his hands. He looked up at his surroundings. There was a door to his right made of elven silk and armor, he knew he couldn't penetrate it. The tent was decorated in fine furs and carpets. Link figured this must have been Malon's quarters. He decided to walk through the tent, gazing at the valuable artifacts that were stolen from Hyrule castle. Link felt so angry he almost broke three antique vases. By the time he reached the wash room, he could feel the effects of the poison seeping through his face. His mouth felt numb, as did his tongue. When he entered the washroom, a small maid girl was standing by the washbasin with fresh water. She turned and squeaked when she saw Link. Link quickly grabbed a towel and wrapped himself in it.

"I-I'm so sorry I didn't know." Link stammered as he found a robe and slid it on.

"It's my fault sir, I should have come to check on you before. I should have been more accommodating…" She looked nervous. She had a couple bruises on her face. Link sighed and walked towards her, placing his towel on a chair next to the wash basin.

"Where am I? Are these Malon's quarters?" He folded the robed tightly across his chest. Saying Malon's name made his heart ache.

"Y-yes sir. She's outside talking to Dorian right now." Link nodded.

"I figured as much… Why did she bring me here?"

"She needs a suitable mate for the ritual sir. The Carenherts plan to take over Hyrule tonight." Link's eyes widened.

"How long have I been here?" The maid moved the basin to the other side of the washroom.

"You have been here for 4 days, but it's been about a week in Hyrule." Link felt sick.

"Thank you for the information… I know you are risking your health telling me all of this." The maid curtseyed and walked away.

"I'd rather be dead than alive, sir." She whispered as she passed by him. She turned and smiled. "At least you'll be the nicest thing I've seen since I've come here. Hopefully, you will find a way to win this." She turned and disappeared through the doorway to the bed chamber. Link rubbed the back of his neck and smiled. That was the first genuine smile he's had since the real Malon kissed him. Link could feel tears beginning to well up in his eyes. He blinked them away and focused on his task. He needed to find a way to clothing and weapon supplies. It was time to destroy the curse. Link began to search through the dressers in the tent. There were black and dark red silk dresses, hair brushes, colors for makeup, and many other oddities women naturally kept. He turned to the bed next, flipping the mattress and noticing a deep red stain. Link swallowed a little, not wanting to know what had happened. He kept digging past the feathers and dust but couldn't find anything.

Link turned towards the tent's doors. He could hear shuffling outside. Link turned the mattress back over and replaced the blankets. He held his robe a little tighter around himself and put his hand on his face. The cut across his face seared as Malon entered the tent. Link gasped, he could feel the poison moving through his body. Malon stood there and stared, her expression empty.

"Pathetic…" She said as she walked to her vanity. Link sighed and sat down.

"What is? The fact that you can't do anything without me, or that you are weak and refuse to admit it?" Malon turned around, her eyes glowing a deep red. She was stunning, just so evil. Link sighed and laid down on the matress.

"You, Link, are what's so bloody pathetic. You act so high and mighty, and you are such an idiot. You get caught, you can't get away, and you think you are such a hero. You couldn't even save her." Link felt the words sting him like the poison.

"Well, at least Malon is still fighting…" Link sighed and could see her face lighten.

"She is strong, but not strong enough." Malon looked away and peered into her mirror. She touched her face and stood up. "You will die. That poison takes a couple days to take full effect, but it will kill you eventually. I have the cure, but you are going to have to do what I say." Link scoffed and turned away from her.

"I'd rather die…" Link growled. Malon sighed and he could hear a hissing noise. Link's eyes widened and turned towards her. She stood there, naked, her fingers tracing down the smoke wrappings around her body. As the smoke dissipated, her beautiful form stood in front of Link. He had never seen a woman so beautiful, but he had to keep looking away. The poison was beginning to have strange effects on him. He felt dizzy and weak. Link tried to shake his head and clear images of her naked body from his head, but he couldn't. Malon was the love of his life, and she was there, but not there.

"Link? Is it you?" Link opened his eyes and looked into bright green eyes.

"Malon?! Is it, is it really you?" Link touched her delicate face. It wasn't hardened with hatred, it was light, soft, and pure. Malon smiled, her lips curled and plumped. She was still naked, but Link was so focused on looking at _his_ Malon that it was hard to do anything else.

"I don't have much time… I was able to fight her off Link. I am your Malon, but I don't know for how much longer…" Link hushed her with a kiss, a long and deep kiss. He ran his fingers over her shoulders and arms. He longed for her for so long. If this was a dream he did not want to wake up. He could feel her gasp slightly as he pulled her body into his.

"I missed you so much. I tried so hard to find you and get to you, but they kept over powering us. I tried Malon. I'm so sorry." Link whispered as he continued to kiss her.

"Link, it's ok, I forgive you." Link smiled and continued to kiss her. She pushed him back on the bed and climbed on top of him. She could feel him beneath the robe. He looked at her naked body and couldn't help himself. He pulled his robe apart and allowed her to do as she wanted.

It was pure joy and ecstasy for link. He felt so wonderful being with her, so wonderful being a part of her. He rolled her on her back and took charge. He kissed her neck and lips, letting her coo and moan with happiness and bliss. She was about to reach her limit when her eyes shot open as wide as possible and looked at Link. Link was smiling, kissing her and holding her. He noticed a strange look on her face and frowned. "_What did you do?_" She whispered pushing him off of her.

"What do you mean, Malon?" Malon rolled off the bed and looked at her naked self. She covered up immediately with Link's robe and ran for the bathroom. Link sat up, completely confused.

"Malon? What is the matter with you?" Link grabbed a bed sheet and wrapped it around his middle. He chased her into the bathroom.

"That wasn't me you were making love to. I'm the real Malon… How could you think that I would just give myself to you like that?" Link stood there, completely perplexed.

"It just seemed like… you were you, I'm sorry Malon… I didn't know…" Malon was crying, curled up in a ball, crying her eyes out. Link knelt down beside her and lightly touched her. She batted his hand away.

"I hope I die…" She whispered. Link backed away from her and felt tears welling down his face, burning the cut.

"Malon, I thought it was you… I've been poisoned, beat on, and she… she looked just like you…" Malon turned and looked at him.

"Oh really? Where her eyes as green as mine?" Link nodded.

"Yes Malon, they were green, that's why I thought it was you, not whatever that demon is." Malon shook her head and sat up straight.

"You're foolish… She's a demon. She can do what she wants. She took my body and took your love. I have nothing left but emptiness." Malon stared up at Link's face. She saw how deep the cut was. The poison was working on him, turning his skin dark grey. "That poison must be what's doing this to you." Malon sighed and stood up. "And I don't know why she is letting me speak with you, but you have to put an end to this chaos…"

"How am I supposed to know if you're you?" Link asked. He could feel himself getting frustrated.

"Because, Link, you'll know after that poison is out of you. I know what it is. You need Egg of Sportal in order to remedy it. She's tricking you. You need to get out of here and find a way to…." Before she could finish the demon was back. "That tricky little bitch. I can't believe I let my guard down that much… She locked me out of her mind for a good 5 minutes. I don't even think you finished…" She hissed. The demon's metallic voice rang like a high pitched bell in Link's head. It echoed and caused him severe pain. He fell to his knees, gripping his head.

"What is this?" Link asked weakly.

"Your hell…" The demon whispered in his ear and walked away. Link fell to the floor and blacked out.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Zelda was shoved through the portal. It felt like swimming through extremely cold water. Zelda fell to the ground and landed on hard wet dirt. She let out an ugh and was yanked to her feet. She looked all around her. It was definitely not Hyrule. The atmosphere was far harsher, like the worst winter she had ever experienced. She shivered slightly as a gust of wind hit her. Ganondorf was standing behind her, his hand lightly touching her elbow. She tried to jerk it away, but he grasped it tightly leading her towards a tent to their left.

He pushed her through the curtained doors and released her hands from their binds. She looked over at him, his eyes always looked like they were glowing. She guessed it was from all the evil that poured into him all the time. "Why are you taking up with the Carenherts? They won't give you glory, money, women, anything, they'll just use you to get to the Royal family's magic and then disown you like they do to each other!" Ganondorf hung his head slightly, but she knew it was out of anger, not sadness.

"You women speak to much. If I had the time, I'd cut out that pretty little tongue, but I'll be needing you to keep that so you can perform some services later…" Zelda could feel bile build up in the back of her throat. He turned from her, she watched his movements carefully. She could see he had a small limp, something that he probably got when he was defeated by Link. She figured she could use that somehow to her advantage. As he closed the large curtain, she could hear the magical enchantment he used around the door to secure it. She sat on the large bed, fit for two. _How repulsive… _Zelda thought as she looked around the room. It was actually quite beautiful, lavishly decorated with fine silks and materials from all over the kingdoms. Zelda felt like she was at home, and realized this would have been home if they hadn't stolen everything from the castle. She got angered, throwing a throw pillow at the mirror of the armoire, her armoire.

The curtain, concealing her from outside, peaked open. It was a maid. She had a black eye and seemed to be in low spirits. Zelda could only imagine how these people treated her. "M'lady, I am here to bathe you and bring you fresh dressings." Zelda stood up and looked towards the curtain.

"If I ran through there, would they kill you for allowing me to escape?" Zelda asked, turning at the small maid.

"Like I told Sir Link, I don't care if I die, it would be a better existence than being a slave." Zelda looked shocked. She had never known anyone to be so miserable. "At least Ganondorf won't hurt you. He loves you too much." Zelda looked at her, she felt a fire burning deep inside her stomach.

"What do you mean? He beat me, almost to death and tried to drown me." Zelda said exasperated. The maid shook her head and looked at her.

"He is but a man, a man who felt resentment towards a woman he loved. He didn't want to hurt you, but you hurt him. It doesn't make sense now, and I don't have time to explain. Now, if you are going to stay and try to work this out, you'll need to blend in and pretend that you are with this façade." Zelda sighed and removed her chest plate.

"Fine, I don't know what you are getting at, but if there is a man that is as docile as you are making him out to be, then I'll be the judge of it. Let's get this over with now. " Zelda followed her into the wash room. It was lavishly decorated, like the bedroom area. It had beautiful wash basin, probably the same one in her room in the castle. She rolled her eyes and undressed quickly. She didn't want Ganondorf to walk in there and see her naked, in a bathtub. No man had ever seen her naked before. The maid scrubbed her down and washed her head to toe. Zelda automatically felt relaxed. She hadn't felt relaxed since this whole ordeal started.

"There, you are finished M'lady. You should probably get out of the tub now and put these on. They are expecting you for negotiations at Sir Carenhert's tent." Zelda looked at her wearily. She sighed and agreed, this was for the best she assumed. The maid bowed her head, letting her hair fall around her face. Zelda felt so sorry for the girl. These people were so evil. She could only imagine what they might do to a girl, a maid at that. Zelda could picture her breaking a glass on accident, and Dorian grabbing her by the throat and pinning her against a wall, shaking her violently, slapping her around, or even worse. Zelda felt heat flush her cheeks. This was a nightmare, and she had no idea what to do about it. Link was kidnapped by a psychopathic Malon, Ganondorf made a deal with the Carenherts, and almost all of her magic was gone. She had to think fast, quickly, and subtly. She looked around the bathroom, for glass, stone, anything that she could cut someone with. She found a mirror, it was very small, but she could work with it. She smashed it against the bathtub, shattering it into a thousand small shards. She scooped a few up, very carefully and put them in her vest pocket. She enjoyed wearing silks and velvets, it made her feel beautiful, but she hated that she had to get them through her enemies. She shook off the benevolent feeling and kept filling her pocket with the glass shards.

Ganondorf entered the tent. His huge boots made a ruckus, mud dribbling all over the fine carpets. Zelda hated seeing good craftsmanship go to waste. "ready?" He growled, taking her by the hand, loosely.

"Fine, but don't think I'm going along with this." Ganondorf tugged her through the door outside. It was so cold. She could feel her face get rosy as the wind whipped her hair across her eyes. Her hair was soaking wet and made her feel even colder. She knew she would get sick if she stayed out here too long. She could see Dorian in the distance, he was talking to a red head. It was Malon, Zelda could feel herself get hot with anger. She hated that woman. She was powerful, beautiful, and perfectly evil. As the neared, she felt Ganondorf tighten his grip, shaking ever so slightly. He was terrified of her as well, and Zelda thought that this could possibly weaken this man.

"M'lady Zelda." Dorian bowed slightly. Zelda nodded her head, although it felt like her hair was freezing to her skull.

"Make this quick, I don't much like being held prisoner and forced to marry." Dorian chuckled and took a quick glance at Malon. She had her arms crossed against her chest and smiled at Zelda, her eyes looked like embers.

"Well, I'll make it quick. There is one last storage of magic left in Hyrule, unfortunately there is some sort of defense surrounding it and we cannot locate it. You need to tell me where it is so I can continue to correct your kingdom in the ways of the Carenhert Clan." Zelda stood motionless, staring at this beast of a man, his hair frayed out, his eyes wild with sleep deprivation and skin stretched worn from the climate.

"I will _never_ surrender what we have built. I will protect my people, my allies, and my land. I will die before I let you take that from me…" She seethed, looking at Malon now, knowing she was in control.

"Oh, sweet Zelda, the guardian of Hyrule. You are always sacrificing yourself for the greater good. I guess you'd sacrifice yourself over and over again because that is who you are, who you were built to be. I guess if I killed something else, that you dearly care about, then you'd have a change of heart…" Malon snapped her fingers and Dorian went into a large tent. When he came out, he produced her weakened father. He was barely able to stand. He was wearing underclothes that were bloodied and mud stained, his face was worn and weathered, his eyes dull from pain. Zelda gasped and looked at Malon with horrifying anger.

"Release him immediately!" Zelda screamed, reaching for a sword that wasn't there.

"Hah, you think I will just bow down to you? You demand me, I'll do the exact opposite. So you better not ask me to not hurt him, if you know what's good for him…" Malon smiled, her teeth white as Hylian Water Pearls. Zelda growled and felt Ganondorf tighten his grip even more.

"You bitch… Father… If you can hear me. I love you, but I will not sacrifice our family, our legacy, and our lives for this… They are never going to find it, they will never use it, and they will never win…" Zelda could see a small smile form on her father's face. He looked up, through his hazed eyes and mouthed the words _I love you_ the moment Dorian grabbed him by the hair and held a large blade to his throat.

"Last… chance… princess." Malon said cautiously. Zelda stood stern, tears hitting her cheeks like small embers.

"Go to hell…" Malon nodded and they slit his throat. Blood poured to the ground and melted the ice beneath his boots. Zelda screamed silently and felt herself drop to the ground.

"I love you too, father…" Zelda whispered, she could feel the tears streaming down her face. What had she done? How could she ever forgive herself for allowing her father to die? She looked up at Ganondorf, her eyes fixed on the hatred she learned through years of battle with this man.

"We let you live, we allowed you to thrive in a place where people like you should go. You bastard, son of a bitch, you allowed this to happen. For what? More power and glory? Revenge for being in an internal prison where you belonged?! I hate you so much. I hope I die before I ever have to wed you." Zelda spat at him. She dug in her pocket with her free hand and threw the glass shards into his face. A few shards of glass struck his eyes, he buckled and screamed. He let her arm go, and she had a second to get away.

She took off through a field of tents, looking for the portal which she assumed was guarded, probably heavily. She took off to the nearest tent, entering it quickly. She could hear Malon screaming in rage, "AFTER HER!" Zelda laughed a little, but stopped to feel herself cry. She could feel all her energy beginning to drain through her tears. She knew she had to hold it together and find a weapon immediately before they found her.

She turned quickly and saw a bed, with someone in it. It was Link. She was completely relieved.

"Link, Link please wake up. We need to get help from our allies, now. It's so important." Link moaned and turned towards her. Zelda almost fainted. His face was beginning to deteriorate. He was dying, and in the worst way. Link held his hand out to her, touching her face and making a weak smile.

"I need…. Egg of Sportal…" Zelda panicked, that was an extremely rare antidote.

"I am going to look, but you are going to have to help me. You are going to have to come with me Link, it's the only chance we both have of getting out." Zelda turned away from him, quickly searching the tent for a weapon. She found a small dagger, some magic powder, and some bread. She eagerly stuffed the bread down her throat, she was starving. She kept searching for any sort of health potion, but only found half a vile of low grade health potion. She immediately ran over to Link and forced him to drink some of it. It helped a tiny bit. He was able to open his swollen eye and the infection reduced. He stood up, holding on to her for support. He wasn't wearing shoes and was only wearing underclothes as well. She sighed but had no time to clothe him.

"Zelda… we aren't going to make it like this… Leave me here. I'll try to make it out sometime…" Zelda shook her head and looked at her friend. He was getting worse again.

"No, I will not leave you here to spawn with that disgusting demon." She felt Link grip her shoulder and she immediately felt terrible. That was Link's love, just not her anymore. "I'm sorry…" Link's grip loosened.

They pushed past the curtains and could feel Link shiver. She held him a little tighter and looked both ways before running out of the tent. Link was trying his hardest to keep up, but she knew he was dragging her down. There were guards crawling all over the compound. She bit the insides of her cheeks. Link was getting so heavy now, and she didn't know how much strength she had left. She looked over at him and he looked at her. She shook her head no, but felt like she should have left him. She spotted two guards to her left and sucked in a breath of cold air. She moved Link to a tree and prepared to fight.

The guards moved up on her and she immediately began the fight. She silently flipped, punched, kicked, and cracked her way to the finish. Both guards were dead before they even had a chance to signal for Dorian or Malon. Zelda quickly grabbed Link and kept moving. She looked everywhere for the portal, and then she spotted it. She rushed as fast as she could.

There were about 15 guards watching the entrance, waiting for her. She knew that she would get caught immediately. She had to find a way to go unnoticed. She drug Link into another Tent, it was near by but not close enough. It must have been a guard tent because there was enough food, supplies, and weapons for ten men. She smiled and grabbed garments and food from the small closets. She pulled some clothes on Link, trying to disguise him as an injured guard. She pulled on some clothes, and they surprisingly fit her. She smiled and grabbed a short sword. She was much better with a short sword. It balanced well for her size.

She took in a deep breath and pulled open the curtain, dragging poor Link with her. She covered their faces with the large black bandanas and marched straight for the portal.

"You are not authorized to go through the portal. Why do you have an injured guard?" A man stepped in front her, arms folded across his chest. He was twice as tall as she was.

"Malon sent us to go through. This guard has been injured with some sort of serious virus. Zelda snuck in a poison and killed two men with it. She's a sneaky bitch… I need to get him out of here, into quarantine in Hyrule." The guard stepped back quickly, eyeing both of them.

"You used Her name… I guess she did speak with you." Zelda felt perplexed, what did that mean?

"Yes, she allows me to." Zelda stood there, her blue eyes staring at the guard. He sighed and stepped aside. The other guards backed away quickly.

"What is the disease?" One asked as she drug Link slowly by.

"It's a Hyrulian disease; it progresses rapidly and is extremely contagious. It's called Forianix Disease.  
Zelda knew about this disease, she experienced it herself. It was horrible, it wiped out half the kingdom's population. The guards stared at her and right before she got to the portal, she could sense tension. Malon was there, had to be there, or very close. She could hear yelling and commotion. She started to run towards the opening, and the moment she fell through it she could hear a distant voice of someone screaming no. Zelda smiled and took out the magic immediately before anyone could get through the portal, throwing the liquid at the portal and infusing it's power with the magic of the portal. Immediately the gateway began to shake and tremor. She could see someone trying to get through, but it was just in time, perfectly timed, and the portal disappeared. She could hear a faint scream and looked at the ground where the portal originally was. There was a long pale finger left there, with a long red nail. Zelda gasped, it was Malon's finger. She quickly grabbed it, maybe her blood carried some sort of disease that could help them destroy her.

Link was still half unconscious, he looked terrible. Zelda stuffed the finger in her pocket and grabbed Link by the arm, dragging him towards the Lost woods. She prayed to see a stray horse nearby. She decided the idea was lost and continued to pull Link, inch by inch, towards the forest. It would take them a little while to reopen the portal, so she had time to think, recooperate, and fix Link if she could find the Egg of Sportal. The last she had heard of the antidote, it was in a cave somewhere in the Lost Forest, it was being guarded by something far too dangerous to be messed with. She sighed, battle seemed to be so tiresome. She needed to rest, if only for a minute.

By the time they reached the forest opening, it was almost dark. Zelda knew the skeletons and ghouls would be out soon, and she hadn't the strength in her to fight them all off. She quickly rushed Link towards the opening, and the moment they came into the darkness of the trees the clock tower in Hyrule Market Place went off, ringing a sweet melody of the night through the air. Zelda smiled, she made it out, and she made it out alive. Link, however, looked very close to death. She quickly found a source of water and gathered as much as she could in a large broad leaf. She brought the water to Link, careful not to spill any of it. He coughed a little as he swallowed it down, she knew it must have pained him, and she knew she couldn't rest until she found the remedy.

"Link, if you can hear me, I'm going to find Egg of Sportal. Legend has it that it is being guarded here in the woods. I will be determined to get you well, even if I have to die trying… Even if I should die, at least it was trying to save you." Zelda looked over her shoulder, she could hear twigs breaking, something was on its way. She grabbed her sword and took cover behind the large tree Link was sprawled under. She could see a bright light through the large shrubs, and recognized it immediately. It was a Kokiri, it was Saria.

"Oh, my dear sage…" Zelda ran to her, hugging her tightly.

"Link is injured, badly." Saria said, her voice unwavering.

"Yes, I'm on my way to the caves to find a cure. He mentioned Egg of Sportal would be the only way." Zelda turned to look at her friend, his face turning more and more grey and swollen. Saria went to him, pulling his head on her lap.

"Yes, but it's far into the woods. It's deep in the brush, the trees thicken the night air where no stars or moonlight will penetrate them. You need to take light with you, if only for a moment. You also need to take this." She threw a glowing red potion at Zelda.

"Which potion is this? I have never seen one glow before." Zelda asked, rolling the small vile in her hand.

"It's one for excessive power and magic. Take it before you enter the cave. What you will encounter is one of the hardest beasts to defeat…" Saria looked up at Zelda, her eyes still emerald green and shining against her small faerie that fluttered around her head.

"I will do my best… Take care of him, and if I fail, you must try to revive him." Saria nodded and returned her focus to Link. Zelda took in a deep breath and turned. It was time to face her destiny, to save the only man who could possibly save them all.


End file.
